A Reminder of Our Crimes: The 35th Hunger Games
by hgamesfic
Summary: Twenty-Four more children enter the Hunger Games, but this year there is a twist. The President is keen to remind the districts why crime never pays... SYOT now closed.
1. Prologue

Head Gamemaker Elroy Criswell knocked on the wooden door.

"Enter"

Elroy pushed open the door, and saw President Collin Neal sitting at his desk. The gamemaker approached the desk nervously. Despite being one of the people in the Capitol closest to the President, Elroy was still terrified of him. He feared that he would one day become another victim of Capitol politics.

"Hello Gamemaker Criswell"

President Neal was a tall man, well built with a sadistic looking grin consistently upon his face, made more obvious by his lack of hair. "I trust you are here to show me the plans for the 35th Hunger Games?"

"Yes sir" Elroy eagerly pulled the file containing the plans from his jacket and handed them to President Neal. The president began reading the plans in silence, while Elroy stood nervously waiting.

"No" Neal suddenly said. "This simply won't do Criswell." The President got up and walked over to gaze out of the large glass window that covered most of the back wall of the office. "I would like you to create a simpler arena, but with a touch of a personal idea I have had of my own.

Elroy stood, confused. "What do you mean Sir?"

President Neal smiled as he stared out of his office window. "Let's just say that the districts are going to be reminded of how punishing it is to commit crimes against the capitol."

* * *

**Hello! Welcome to the 35th Hunger Games. I'm a new member, currently working on this story. The tributes have now all been chosen, and the first chapter is now up!**

**I hope you all enjoy my story, and please review! it's my first story so would love to hear feedback.**

* * *

**Tributes for the 35th Hunger Games:  
**

**D1 Girl- Bluebell Jamison (18) (ForeverYoung362)****  
**

**D1 Boy- Velour and Shimmer Gemine (18) (peace and joyce)**

**D2 Girl- Andromeda Ryan (17) (seanthesheep356)**

**D2 Boy- Runyon 'Tiger Eyes' Greenlaw (18) (EverlarkClato4ever)**

**D3 Girl- **** Bree Lloyd (16) (xxxRimaxxx)**

**D3 Boy- Orren Noults (18) (Munamana)**

**D4 Girl- Alissa Crestwood (17) (twiheart2thebone)**

**D4 Boy- Salton Calder (17) (dannnnzzzz)**

**D5 Girl- Mimi Laven (16) (MidgetandProud)**

**D5 Boy- Murray Greene (17) (Theuglyduckling492)**

**D6 Girl- Medusa Krinvox (14) (MockingStorm)**

**D6 Boy- Bryce Lichen (17) (Hutsune)**

**D7 Girl- Azalea Tigris (18) (EverclarkClato4ever)**

**D7 Boy- Nash Lockhart (15) (TallTalesInk)**

**D8 Girl- Audrey Manzel (14) (Amor-deliria-nervosa-7491)**

**D8 Boy- Teddy Garland (16) (ForeverYoung362)**

**D9 Girl- Fenella Reed (16) (xxxRimaxxx)**

**D9 Boy- Patrick 'paddy' Ackerman (13) (Myself)**

**D10 Girl- Karina Carr (12) (EverclarkClato4ever)**

**D10 Boy- Morris Wayward Jr (15) (Zephyrme)**

**D11 Girl- Lily Star (16) (EverclarkClato4ever)**

**D11 Boy- Vern Tillier (18) (Socially Awkward Wolf)**

**D12 Girl- Natasha Trent (17) (Tasherekalb)**

**D12 Boy- Alex Trent (17) (Tasherekalb)**


	2. District 4 Reapings

**District 4 Tributes:**

**Alissa Crestwood (17)**

**Salton Calder (17)**

* * *

"Alright Scarface"

Salton whipped his head around in fury to where the voice had come from. Mikel Goode, the community house bully. Salton had been bullied and mistreated his whole life at the community home in which he had grown up in, and normally backed down from these type of confrontations. But he had clearly reached the end of his tether this time.

"What did you say you fatso?" he shouted as he stormed over towards Mikel.

Mikel looked taken aback for a second, before quickly regaining his composure and smirking at Salton. "Aww, is the runt of the home finally becoming a man?"

"Just leave it Mikel" Salton said, with anger written all over his face.

Mikel looked triumphant, with a massive grin on his face. "Ha! Backing down as always. You're pathetic! It's no wonder no-one loves you. The workers here hate you, all the kids here at the home hate you, hell, even your own mother didn't love you…"

Mikel was cut off as Salton's right arm connected with his jaw, sending a tooth flying. Mikel crumpled to the ground, knocked out. As the other children of the home looked on in shock, Matthew ran over and put a hand on Salton's shoulder.

"Come on Salton, let's get out of here before someone reports you…" Matthew said. The two boys hurried away across the courtyard. Salton had not had a happy life at the community home. He had been put in the District 4 community home shortly after being born, his mother never intending to be a parent. He had therefore never met his mother or his father, and had grown up in the community home as an unhappy child, abused by the workers and other children alike, due to being overweight and shy. He still had the scars from his physical abuse.

His only form of escapism was the training centre. Salton had joined the career training centre secretly at the age of 12. Training as a career had turned the once overweight child into a tall, rather attractive young man with toned muscles, dark green eyes and caramel hair. No-one at the home knew that Salton had been secretly training in order to compete in the Hunger Games. No-one apart from his only friend, Matthew. The only person who took time to talk to the lone boy Salton, and to truly understand and appreciate Salton's true sweet nature.

As they reached their usual spot, behind the wall on the south side of the courtyard, Matthew asked "What the hell did you do that for?"

Salton grinned and replied: "I don't know why I did it to be honest…I've just had enough of him really."

Matthew smiled slightly. "I understand buddy. But you've got to be careful. The workers here already find any chance to pick on you as it is." He paused. "But at least I guess that punch proves that you'll be ready for the Hunger Games next year."

Salton turned to face Matthew. "I've had enough Matthew. I can't wait any longer. I'm volunteering this year."

* * *

Alissa Crestwood stood in front of her mirror, admiring herself wearing a pink skirt and white blouse. Alissa was a rather pretty girl, with wavy, shoulder length dark brown hair and tanned, lightly freckled skin due to spending a lot of her time fishing. She had a slender figure with sparkling blue eyes, just like her mother.

Her parents popped their heads round the side of her bedroom door and smiled broadly. "You look beautiful Alissa!" her mother exclaimed.

Her father walked over and hugged Alissa tightly. "You do look beautiful Alissa. I'm so proud of you"

Alissa smiled. She loved both her parents, especially her father, who she had spent so much of her life with fishing. He was proud of her because this was Alissa's year to volunteer for the Hunger Games. She had been training at the District 4 training centre for years now, and glorified the games greatly.

"Thanks Dad" Alissa replied. "I'm going to make you even prouder. I'm going to win the Hunger Games and bring honour to our family."

Alissa's Father hugged her even tighter. "I know you are darling! Now c'mon, let's get down to the reaping."

As the Crestwood family walked through District 4 towards the district centre, Alissa looked around happily. She loved her district, with its beautiful beaches. and shuddered at the thought of living in a district like 11 or 12.

As they continued walking, Alissa's younger brother, Derrick, said to her quietly "I'm scared of you entering the Hunger Games Alissa. I'm going to miss you so much."

Alissa put a comforting hand on her brother's shoulder, and said with complete confidence "Don't worry Derrick. I'm going to be home before you know it, as District 4's greatest victor ever!"

Derrick smiled, feeling better as they reached the district centre and admired the square, which was looking great, with decorations adorning every building to celebrate the reaping. Alissa said goodbye to her family and walked over to join the 17 year old section. As she reached it, she overheard two girls talking. "…and then I heard that Clarissa has been cheating on Toby…" Alissa began to eavesdrop, always one to enjoy a bit of idle gossip.

One of the girls noticed her and shouted "Oh go away Alissa, always sticking your nose in!"

Alissa moved over to the other side of the section, resisting the temptation to retort. She was well aware that she wasn't liked much in the district, due to her intrusive nature. Her only true friend was Timothy, a boy who only opened up to Alissa. Because of this, the two of them had developed a special bond over the years, due to only having each other for companionship.

Alissa sighed, as she contemplated her feelings for Timothy. She had began to develop romantic feelings for him, and she couldn't suppress that no matter how hard she tried.

Alissa was snapped out of her thoughts by the escort, who was beginning to talk. "Happy Hunger Games everybody! The reaping shall begin shortly, but first…"

Alissa zoned out as the escort began his usual drivel about the history of the Hunger Games and why they were so important. She just wanted to get on with volunteering.

"So let's start with the female tribute" the escort announced. Alissa suddenly had her full attention on the escort, waiting for the signal to rush forward.

The escort swirled his hand around the bowl, before pulling a bit of paper out. "The female tribute this year is Rosina Locklear…"

"I VOLUNTEER!" Alissa screamed as she ran forward up to the stage before any other girls could make it.

The escort smiled. "That's great dear! Anything you'd like to say to your district?"

Alissa took the microphone and shouted "Yes, I just want to say hello to my family, and to say that I can't wait to win the Hunger Games, and make everyone in this district proud!"

The crowd cheered as the male escort took the microphone back. "Great to see such enthusiasm! Now for the male tribute…"

The escort picked out another piece of paper from which he read "Carlo Dennis".

"I volunteer!" a shout came in unison from several boys, but one of them reached the stage before all others.

"And what is your name young man?" the escort asked.

"Salton Calder. All I'm going to say is how much I'm looking forward to proving to everyone how wrong they were about me."

The escort smiled. "Please shake hands tributes!" Alissa and Salton shook hands, as the escort announced: "Your District 4 tributes everybody, Happy Hunger Games!"


	3. District 10 Reapings

**District 10 Tributes:**

**Karina Carr (12)**

**Morris Wayward Jr (15)**

* * *

Morris Wayward Jr sat at his desk, concentrating on his latest report. He was stuck on what to write next, and beads of sweat were beginning to drip off his forehead as he got more frustrated by the minute.

He leant back in his chair and sighed. Being the official Capitol food taster for District 10 was hard work, but it sure as hell made his and his family's life a whole lot easier. Because of Morris' position, the family regularly ate 3 meals a day, which was a lot more than most in the district. Morris loved his job, as it meant he got to taste new Capitol food products to make sure it was adequate for Capitol standards. It was because of this position, that he had now held for 2 years, that Morris had become a rather fat boy, with freckles and brown hair that usually stuck up all over the place.

As Morris returned to his report, a call came up the stairs: "Morris! Food's ready!"

The boy eagerly dropped his pen and went downstairs, where a marvellous sight awaited him. A full plate of sausages, bacon and potatoes. He sat down and began wolfing down the food. His parents sat around the table with him, beaming. The Wayward family were a close family, and Morris was loved very much by his parents.

"Morris, are you feeling ok about the reaping?" his Mom asked.

Morris paused from eating, as he remembered the grim reality of today. _I had almost forgotten! _ he mused in his head. "I'm fine Mom. Obviously it's worrying but I'm sure I won't get picked."

"Well we've never had to put in for tesserae thanks to your position son, so I wouldn't worry!" His father said with happiness. Morris smiled as his Dad walked out the room. He knew that his parents were very grateful to him for securing this position, bringing a better life for them all.

Morris finished his food, not leaving even a scrap. "Mom, I'm just gonna go see the horses before we leave ok?"

"Of course honey!"

Morris went out through the back door, and began walking across the enormous field towards the stables. As he walked, he pondered how happy he was with his life compared to a couple of years ago. Morris had been bullied during his first year of high school, until he began to stand up for himself, and the hurtful comments about his weight still resonated within him sometimes. Despite this, he was much more popular now, with lots of friends, including his best friend Jerold.

As he reached the stables, the horses whinnied in excitement to see him. The family owned fifteen horses in total, as well as two cows and a bull. Morris loved being around the animals, there was a certain comforting feeling that you got from animals that humans couldn't quite provide.

He sighed as he patted one of the horses affectionately, worrying about the reaping, despite what he said to his parents. Surely he wouldn't be picked?

* * *

The Carr family were walking through District 10, largely comprised of farmland and livestock.

Unfortunately for 12 year old Karina Carr, moving along slowly with the aid of her walking stick, she was unable to see any of this. The young girl had been born blind, and she had also suffered a terrible tragedy four years ago when a runaway cow had trampled her, which had left her right leg badly damaged. Due to poor medical care, her leg had become infected and so had had to be amputated. Because the Carr family were so poor, they could not afford a prosthetic, so Karina had to make do with a walking stick.

"Are you ok Karina?" Her older brother Willian asked with a worried look as they walked along.

Karina smiled in appreciation. Despite her misfortune, she knew that she was very lucky to have such a loving family. Her parents, and her older siblings Willian and Ivonne all deeply cared for her and were extremely protective of her. She received similar treatment from most people in the district. Everyone knew Karina, the tiny blind girl with light brown hair that she always wore in a fishtail braid, and they all fussed over her and tried to help her in any way they could.

"I'm ok Willian. Just looking forward to getting this done with."

"It's only your first reaping Karina… you've got such low odds of being chosen." Willian said with a false confidence.

"I know Willian, don't worry I'm fine." Karina knew well that despite only being 12, her name was in there more than once due to taking out tesserae. Her parents had hated taking out tesserae in her name, but Karina had been very stubborn about the issue. In the end her parents conceded, as they so desperately needed it.

As they reached the square, Karina could hear the buzz of voices all around her. 12 year olds crying, peacekeepers shouting orders. Being blind had heightened her other senses, especially her hearing which was excellent.

Karina said goodbye to her family and was helped over to the 12 year old section, where she stood patiently, awaiting the reaping to begin.

* * *

"Happy 35th Hunger Games everybody!" the District 10 escort exclaimed in excitement.

Morris heard audible snorts of laughter as members of the district stared at their new escort. She was a ridiculous looking woman, even by Capitol standards, with half her face coloured blue and the other half pink, and with a ridiculous looking mohawk. Morris was unfazed, completely used to freakish Capitol people due to his position as food taster.

"And the female tribute for this year is… Karina Carr!"

Morris looked over, and felt a pang of sadness as he saw the poor blind girl having to be helped up to the stage. Many people in the crowd looked on with pity, and Morris could hear very loud crying coming from Karina's mother near the back.

"Now for the male tribute!" the escort announced.

_Please not me, please it can't be me… _Morris desperately prayed in his head.

"Jerold Galloway!"

_What? No! _Morris realised in shock that his best friend Jerold had been reaped, and before he could even think about what he was doing, shouted "I volunteer!"

Most of the district looked round in shock. District 10 had hardly ever had a volunteer in the history of the games. It was in that moment that it had dawned on Morris what he had done. But he knew now that he had to look composed and strong for the cameras that would soon be centred on him. He started moving towards the stage, looking as calm and as collected as he possibly could.

"MORRIS! NO!"

Morris heard the wail of his Mother as she tried to force her way through the peacekeepers to her son. "No please! That's my little boy! Please don't take him I'm begging you!"

Morris looked at his Mother, trying to convey how sorry he was. But he knew in his head that he had done the right thing. He couldn't have let Jerold into the games. The meek boy wouldn't know how to handle it.

The escort was looking very excited as Morris reached the stage, "Congratulations young man! Very brave to volunteer! In fact I believe you may be the first ever volunteer for District 10! What do you have to say to that?" she said enthusiastically as she pushed the microphone into his face.

"I'm sorry Mom. I'm sorry Dad." Morris said with a great sadness on his face now as he made eye contact with his parents.

"There you have it everybody! Your marvellous tributes for District 10!" the escort said with glee.

No-one cheered or clapped. Morris looked out on the sea of pitying faces, and wondered how he was going to survive this.


	4. District 5 Reapings

**District 5 Tributes:**

**Mimi Laven (16)**

**Murray Greene (17)**

* * *

_(The night before the reapings)_

Murray Greene walked through the crowds of people in his house, his vision blurry. He was feeling good. The party had been a success so far, dozens of people had turned up, and his friend Allan had managed to get hold of some illegal spirits. Murray's house was the perfect place to host a party, with its enormous rooms and massive staircases. The family was one of the richest in the district, and Murray enjoyed this greatly. Because of their riches, he was also able to attend a special talent academy in the district where he was developing his soccer skills.

_Yep, life is good. _Murray thought as he swigged yet again from the bottle he was holding, feeling arrogant as he strolled through his party. He was getting a lot of admiring looks from the girls of District 5. Murray knew full well that he was a very good looking young man, with his wavy, golden hair and his eyes that were a bluey-grey colour. Being tall and fairly muscular certainly helped too.

Despite enjoying the attention he got, there was only one girl that Murray truly loved. He smiled as he spotted this particular girl.

"Hey beautiful." he said with a sexy smirk as he approached Scarlette.

Scarlette was leaning against the wall, looking stunning with her flattering blue dress and shoulder length brown hair, talking to another friend of theirs, Lulu.

"Hey, where's my compliment Murray?" Lulu said with a cheeky look at him.

Murray lent over and gave her a kiss on the cheek, "you know I think you're beautiful too Lulu." he said with the charm he was so brilliant at employing to get what he wanted.

Scarlette scowled as she watched Murray. The boy obviously knew how much she loved him, but he just wouldn't reciprocate the feelings. Sometimes Scarlette believed that Murray did love her too, with all the charm and compliments he poured on her. But then he would tease her, or give the same compliments to another girl like Lulu.

Scarlette sighed, not understanding what Murray saw in Lulu. _Sometimes I just wish he'd make his mind up! _she thought as she took a sip from her drink. _Oh what the hell!_ She was normally afraid of making the move, but she had had a bit to drink and was feeling brave.

She turned to Murray with a sexy smile. "So Murray, how do you fancy going for a walk somewhere…. just the two of us?"

Murray turned to her with his trademark smile. "C'mon Scarlette, you know I'm only interested in blondes." Before winking and turning away to talk to Lulu.

Scarlette sighed again. She didn't know what to do.

* * *

_(The day of the reapings)_

"There's one over there" Krystal whispered.

Mimi Laven smiled as she lined up her bow and arrow, pointing directly at the deer. The beautiful creature was standing eating grass, completely unaware of what was about to happen.

She fired an arrow, piercing the deer straight through the heart. The girls ran over to the deer as it collapsed, dying instantly.

As they moved closer and knelt down to inspect it, Krystal exclaimed "Wow, you really are one hell of a shot Mimi!"

Mimi smiled in appreciation at her best friend. The two were practically like sisters, having been loyal friends to one another for years now. "Thanks Krystal. Why don't you take the deer away to be cut up, and I'll go to the market and trade the meat we already have sorted?"

"Sure Mimi! See you later!"

Mimi turned away and began walking back towards the residential area of the market, vaulting the tiny bit of fencing that was caved in on the edge of the district. What Mimi and Krystal did was completely illegal, but Mimi had no choice. Her Father had died of starvation when she was four, and her Mother had become an alcoholic over the years as a result. The only real support she had came from her older brother Tom, who did his bit by working at one of the district power plants as a maintenance officer.

_Tom earns his keep legally… I earn mine illegally _Mimi thought as she came closer to the District 5 market. She was well known around the market, and was loved by everyone for her cheeky nature. Mimi was a pretty girl, with long blonde hair, big blue eyes and rosy cheeks. She had a great ability to obtain the best deal here.

She smiled as she approached Mr Lawton, the meat trader who adored Mimi. The two had forged a great friendship over the last couple of years, thanks to their mutual trade agreement.

"Hello Mimi! How are we doing today?" Mr Lawton said as she approached his stall.

"I'm great Mr Lawton, how are you?" she replied as she flashed an innocent smile.

"Same as always Mimi. What have you got for me today?"

"Two deer. I'm sure you can give me 6 kg of mince for this can't you?"

Mr Lawton smiled. "But Mimi, you know the going rate is 4.5kg of mince don't you?"

"But Mr Lawton…" Mimi pleaded as she fluttered her eyelashes sweetly.

Mr Lawton sighed. "Ok Mimi fine. But this deer had better be cut well!"

"It is I promise!" Mimi said with great enthusiasm.

It was then that she realised the time. "Oh, i'd better get down to the reaping!"

"Ok Mimi. I'll see you later!"

"See you later! Thanks Mr Lawton!" Mimi shouted as she jogged off towards the district centre.

Mimi didn't think too much about the reaping. She didn't really consider the possibility of being chosen for the Hunger Games, even though she had taken out tesserae. One thing that did stick out in her memory however, was when her brother Tom had been reaped two years ago, but luckily someone had volunteered for him. The poor volunteer had been slaughtered in the bloodbath by a career, and Tom had never really been able to forget this.

Mimi put this memory out of her head as she reached the crowd of 17 year olds, she found her friend Krystal.

"Can't wait to get this over and done with!" Krystal said.

"Same here. It's so boring." Mimi replied, as the escort arrived on the stage and began talking about the history of the Hunger Games and why they were so necessary to maintain control of the districts and…. by that point Mimi could have fallen asleep, until it got to the all important pieces of paper.

"And the female tribute is… Mimi Lavern!"

* * *

Murray looked at the female tribute as she approached the stage, shaking from shock. He smirked, as he thought _Ha! I would never behave like that if I was chosen, the girl looks scared to death…_

"Murray Greene!"

Murray was snapped out of his thoughts as he heard his name. Had that come from the escort? No surely not. Surely he couldn't have been chosen for the Hunger Games.

The reality dawned on him as the escort said "Murray Greene" again and peacekeepers began moving towards him. Murray hurried away from them and began striding confidently towards the stage. He was not going to be manhandled by those brutes on Capitol television.

As he reached the stage, the escort said "Tributes, please shake hands!"

As he shook Mimi's hand, Murray became aware of how pretty she was, despite her tatty clothes. He smirked. Maybe the games wouldn't be so bad after all…


	5. District 2 Reapings

**District 2 Tributes:  
**

**Andromeda Ryan (17)**

**Runyon 'Tiger Eyes' Greenlaw (18)**

* * *

"Come on Runyon, work harder!"

The hugely built man swung his sword at one trainer, before blocking an attack from another. The two trainers circled him, their eyes locked on Runyon. His fierce eyes returned the stare, as he growled slightly, before releasing an almighty roar, and knocking one trainer down with his shield before swinging his sword with all his strength at the other. The trainer backed off, and Runyon advanced towards him menacingly. He was a tall, extremely muscular man with red hair and teal eyes. His whole appearance created an aura of intimidation.

A whistle sounded. Runyon turned round, his fury now directed at the head trainer, Alex Shelton, as he approached.

"Why did you blow the whistle?! I had him cornered!" he shouted at Alex.

Alex smirked. "The fight was over Runyon. I'd seen enough." He paused. "I will tell you that your reactions were sloppy. Maybe you're not ready for the Hunger Games… such a shame, seeing as it's your last year…"

Runyon's eyes flamed up instantly. "I'm not ready?! My whole life has lead up to this day, and you're telling me I'm not ready?! HOW DARE YOU! I'M TIGER EYES, AND THIS IS MY YEAR! I'M GOING TO WIN AND KILL EVERY OTHER PUNY TRIBUTE WHO STANDS IN MY WAY! he screamed, before punching the wall.

Alex smiled triumphantly. He had deliberately said what he said to get Runyon riled up. He felt like he could do with a bit of fire in his heart before the reapings. Not that he needed it though.

"Perhaps you are ready Runyon. Now go to the reaping."

Runyon walked off in an aggressive manner, three of his friends flanking him as he made his way towards the district centre.

"You were amazing in there tiger eyes!" one of his friends, Leonis, shouted.

Runyon smiled. No-one could really remember where the nickname tiger eyes had come from, all he knew was that he had been called it for as long as he could remember. Most people interpreted the name as a description of his fierce looking eyes.

"Yeah man, the Hunger Games are yours this year! Another friend named Damien said excitedly.

The last member of the group, Huck, kept quiet. He was also 18, and he hated the fact that it had been decided that Runyon was volunteering this year.

_It was his last year too, why didn't he get to volunteer? _He thought angrily. What Runyon didn't know is that Huck was planning to beat him to the stage this year when volunteers were called.

_May the best man win._ Huck thought as he smirked to himself.

* * *

Andromeda awoke to the sound of her alarm. She yawned, and slowly got out of bed. And then she remembered.

_Reaping day. _She thought as she walked over to her bathroom to look at herself in the mirror.

Andromeda was aware that she was beautiful, and that many men fawned over her. With her long curly dark red hair which reached her waist, and her striking gold eyes that contrasted her pale skin, she painted quite the picture.

After she had finished getting herself ready, and putting on a navy blue lace dress with long sleeves, she headed downstairs, where her rather big family awaited her.

Her mother and father, her twin brothers Nolan and Mason, and her absolute favourite, her little 15 year old sister, Theodora. Andromeda and Theodora, or Thea as Andromeda liked to call her, were very close.

"Hey Andromeda!" Thea said with a big smile as Andromeda sat down.

Andromeda rubbed Thea's curly hair affectionately. "Morning trouble. How are you this morning?"

Thea's face dropped a bit. "Well, it is reaping day today…"

Andromeda gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry cheeky. You won't get reaped. There are so many girls out there who are dying to volunteer."

Their father looked up from his morning paper. "I hope you're one of them Andromeda! You're 17 now, maybe it's about time you volunteered!"

Andromeda looked away from her father's stern gaze. "Maybe not this year Dad. I don't want to ruin someone's else's last chance. I'll volunteer next year, I promise."

Her Father looked at her with disdain. "You had better do! I'm starting to wonder if you really do want to participate in the Hunger Games… I don't think I could bear the shame of you not volunteering!"

Andromeda walked away from the table, annoyed. She couldn't admit this to her Father, but she had no intentions of entering the Hunger Games, not even next year. Although she had trained at the career academy for years, she hated the Hunger Games and everything it stood for, quite unlike most other citizens of District 2. However, she trained because she couldn't bare the thought of her Father blaming her for being the cause of not being respected by other families in the district. At least by her training the other families did not look down upon them.

"Ok everyone, let's head down to the reapings!" Andromeda looked round. Her mother had appeared from the kitchen and was getting the family organised.

"I'm gonna go on ahead Mom, ok? I said I'd meet Dean."

"Ok darling, see you down at the reapings!"

Andromeda left the house, glad to escape her father. She met Dean, her best friend, by the tree at the end of their street.

"Hi Andromeda." Dean said as they hugged. As they headed down to the reapings, Dean began cracking his usual awful jokes.

"Hey Andromeda, how many peacekeepers does it take to change a lightbulb?"

Andromeda looked at him with mild amusement, awaiting the inevitable silly answer.

"They never found out, there wasn't enough of them in Panem to work out how to do it!"

Dean fell about laughing while Andromeda gazed at her friend with a smile. Dean was mental, but that was why she loved having him as a friend so much. Whenever she was down, Dean never failed to do something to cheer her up.

As they approached the district centre, Andromeda lapsed into her own thoughts.

_I can't wait for this to be over… I'll go home and spend some quality time with Thea. _Andromeda thought to herself as she smiled. She really did love Thea so dearly.

* * *

As the group of men came closer to the district centre, Runyon spotted his girlfriend, Gliese, walking over towards him. He smiled as she hugged him and gave him a long kiss.

She was a beautiful woman with long flowing dark brown hair and sparkling green eyes. Runyon was well aware that most men would die to be in his position, and he loved it.

"I can't wait for you to volunteer baby… you'd better win!" she said with a cheeky look.

Runyon smirked. "Of course I'm going to win! And then when I return as victor we'll take our place with the elite in the Victor's Village!"

Gliese smiled her beautiful smile. "I can't wait baby!" she said as they parted ways to join their respective sections for the reapings.

As Runyon took his place amongst the male 18 year olds, he had many people wishing him good luck. He was a popular man, well respected but also feared. Many people in District 2 couldn't see how he could possibly lose.

By this point the escort was already almost at the end of her speeches, and proceeded to start the reapings.

"The girls first…" she said with a smile as she picked out a piece of paper.

"Theodora Ryan!"

Runyon watched as a small girl exited the 15 year old section. Surely someone would volunteer?

"I volunteer!" screamed a girl.

Runyon smirked, as Andromeda Ryan walked up towards the stage with complete confidence. He knew her from the training centre, but had never really taken much of an interest in her.

"And now for the boys…" the escort said as she dipped her hand into the male bowl.

"Haider-"

"I VOLUNTEER!" Runyon bellowed at the top of his lungs as he sprinted towards the stage. But suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Huck making a run for the stage too.

_And he was closer! _Runyon suddenly realised. He knew what he had to do.

With a piercing war cry, Runyon changed direction and pelted towards Huck from the side. Huck barely registered Runyon before he smashed him into the ground, before repeatedly punching his face while on top of him.

"TRY TO VOLUNTEER ON MY YEAR! WELL SEE WHAT HAPPENS! Runyon screamed as he continued punching Huck's face in.

Peacekeepers ran over, pulled Runyon off and pushed him towards the stage. He charged onto the stage, completely terrifying the escort, before snatching the microphone off her.

"ARE YOU WATCHING TRIBUTES?! ARE YOU SCARED?! THIS IS WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO YOU! I AM TIGER EYES, AND I WILL BE VICTOR!"


	6. District 12 Reapings

**Hey everyone, just want to start by saying thanks for the reviews! It really does make me motivated to write the chapters quickly.**

**Also, I just wanted to answer a question I've had from a couple of reviewers about District 2 tribute Andromeda Ryan. These reviewers asked why Andromeda had to volunteer for her sister, when normally there are many girls in District 2 willing to volunteer?**

**Well it's because, as I referenced in the chapter, with my portrayal of District 2 respect for a family name can be gained or lost by whether your family members compete in the Hunger Games. It's also a sign of honour in District 2 to volunteer for a younger sibling if they are reaped. So Andromeda knew that she had to volunteer, otherwise her father would most likely kick her out for bringing shame to the family. Also, she of course wants to protect her sister. ****Furthermore, most other families would generally respect this enough to give Andromeda a chance to volunteer, which is why no other girl from District 2 put themselves forward so quickly. This will be expanded upon in other chapters.**

**Hope that clears that up, and hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

**District 12 Tributes:**

**Natasha Trent (17)**

**Alex Trent (17)  
**

* * *

_(Twelve years ago)_

Peacekeeper Burke knocked three times on the wooden door, and stood back, awaiting an answer. Him and Peacekeeper Cobb were standing at the door of one of the houses in an area of District 12 near the seam. The family living here would be poor, but certainly not amongst the poorest in the district. Next to Cobb stood a three year old girl named Natasha Maxwell.

The door opened, and a scared looking woman of about thirty-three years of age poked her head round the door.

"Mrs Lena Trent?" Burke asked.

The woman nodded, looking scared.

"We come from the Capitol. This is Natasha Maxwell." Burke said as he pointed at the little girl. "Natasha's parents recently perished in a fire, and the Capitol orphanage is overcrowded. Therefore the Capitol has started a new programme where districts will take in orphans from the Capitol to live with them, especially if they are… trouble."

Lena looked at the little girl. She was a sad looking child, so Lena wondered what the peacekeepers meant. What she didn't know was that no-one in the Capitol had wanted to take in this child, as she was aggressive towards other children and rude to adults.

"But I can't take a child in! I'm a single parent with one child to feed already! I can't afford it!" Lena said with worry written all over her face.

"Capitol's orders ma'am. You have no choice in this matter" Cobb replied as they began to walk off.

"Wait, please!" Lena called after them, but her pleas fell on deaf ears.

Lena looked at young Natasha Maxwell, who stared right back at her.

"Are you my new Mommy? She asked.

* * *

_(Day of the reapings)_

"Give me all your money now! Hand it over before I slit your pathetic throat!"

Alex Trent was holding a sickle, pointing it right at the throat of a man who had been unfortunate enough to walk down this particular alleyway in the Seam. Alex was an asian boy who stood at 6 ft 5, with spiky black hair and brown eyes, and right now he was wearing a bandana that was covering his face. He looked very intimidating.

The rest of the gang were stood circled around the innocent man. "Please" the man pleaded. "I have barely a dollar to my name! I have a family to feed!"

"Shut up!" Alex shouted, as he gestured to one of the gang members, who was standing behind the man, and nodded as he gave him a sharp kick to the back of his right leg, making him crumple to the ground as he screamed in pain.

Alex knelt down and wrapped the sickle right around his throat. "So… changed your mind yet?" he said with no emotion on his face whatsoever.

The man, who was now very visibly trembling, scrambled around in his pocket and pulled out two one dollar notes. Alex snatched them out of his hand as he stood up.

"This is all you've got? Don't mess me around!" Alex shouted as he delivered a hard kick to the man's stomach, causing the man to choke heavily.

"That's enough Alex!" Natasha said firmly. Alex's adopted twin sister. She was a beautiful young woman, despite her rough appearence, tall, with long golden blonde hair set against her pale skin, with gorgeous dark blue eyes. She also still had a slight Capitol accent from when she was younger that she had never quite managed to shake off.

Alex calmed down visibly as Natasha spoke, although the anger was still burning in his eyes. "Stay out of this Natasha. It's not your place to get involved."

"It's almost time for the reapings! You don't want a repeat of last year do you?"

The year before on reaping day, Alex refused to go, saying he wasn't bothered, and made the rest of the gang do the same. The peacekeepers came and kicked their door in, before forcibly dragging everyone to the district centre. The gang, especially Alex and Natasha Trent, were well known amongst peacekeepers for the trouble they caused around the district.

Alex lowered his sickle. "Fine." He looked at the man, who was still shaking on the ground.

"It's your lucky day pal! Let's go!" he ordered to the rest of the gang.

As they walked along, Natasha moved alongside Alex. "You've got to be more careful Alex! All that noise will attract peacekeepers and…"

Alex zoned out as she talked. He was used to her telling him off, and he didn't particularly like it. Nonetheless he still attempted to listen every time.

"I know sis, i'm sorry." he said gruffly. Natasha was probably the only person in the world who Alex would listen to.

Natasha smiled at Alex. As they made their way towards the district centre and exited the seam, Natasha noticed their old house, and felt a pang of pain as repressed memories surfaced.

Ever since that day that she had been dropped off at that district 12 house, life had become very different for the girl previously known as Natasha Maxwell. Whisked away from the Capitol and put in the poorest district in Panem, the change was quite harrowing for her. She was raised by Lena, who had always held a grudge against Natasha for being forced upon her. As a result Natasha had grown up unloved and uncared for.

However, she had found comfort over the years in her adopted twin brother, Alex Trent. Despite being an aggressive boy with not many real feelings to his name, Natasha had gotten through to him over their childhood, and the two had developed a remarkable bond.

Natasha shuddered as she remembered the day she had turned 13. Lena had decided it was time that Natasha should start paying her way, by selling her body to men. But as she was about to be assaulted by the first man who had paid for her, Alex had found them and confronted the man. As a result, Alex stabbed him through the chest, killing him.

Two days later, Lena Trent abandoned Alex and Natasha, and ran away. It was at that point that Alex had decided to form the gang, dedicated to stealing and committing any other crimes that took their fancy. They had not seen their Mother since.

As they reached the centre, Natasha was actually surprised. The centre had been decorated more than usual, although this was by District 12 standards. Their district was still bound to be the worst looking in Panem.

The gang parted ways and joined their respective sections for the reapings. Alex was feeling moody, ready to lash out at the next kid that so much as touched him. He hated all of this.

_Look at that pathetic creature! _He thought to himself, as he audibly laughed as the escort, who was wearing a ridiculous pink suit. Many kids around him backed away as he laughed his rather maniacally. Everyone knew who Alex Trent was.

"So let's start with the girls!" The escort announced brightly.

The whole district held their breaths in anticipation, apart from Alex, who could have even been classed as looking bored.

"The female tribute is… Natasha Trent!"

_What?! _Alex screamed in his head, as he spun his head round to confirm what he had just heard. Sure enough, Natasha was walking towards the stage, looking shocked.

Alex had barely had time to register what had happened before another name was announced.

"Alex Trent!"

He heard his name, and as he began walking towards the stage, the reality dawned on him. He was going into the Hunger Games with his twin sister.

"What's your name young man?" the escort asked excitedly.

Alex completely ignored him, instead glaring fiercely. The escort got the message, and quickly announced "Your tributes for District 12 everybody! Happy Hunger Games!"

As District 12 gave its obligatory clap, Natasha was still shocked._ How could they have both been reaped? Neither of them had ever taken out tesserae, Alex had forbidden it… _

Then suddenly, it hit her. _The reaping must have been rigged! _She thought, the idea of it making more and more sense by the minute.

She was still pondering this as her and Alex were led away to the Justice Building.


	7. District 3 Reapings

**District 3**** Tributes:****  
****  
****Bree Lloyd (16)  
****Orren Noults (18)**

* * *

_(Night before the reapings)_

There was a good atmosphere in the bar tonight. Music was playing, people were dancing and getting drunk, and over in one of the corners of the bar, Orren Noults was winning money off his co-workers at poker, with a crowd of onlookers enjoying the show.

"Oh, good" Orren said calmly, as he looked at his cards, although there was a hint of sarcasm to his comment, something which one of the other players, Evan, a middle-aged man who Orren worked with, noticed.

"I know that tone of voice!" Evan slurred, very drunk by this point.

Orren raised an eyebrow quizzically. "What do you mean Evan?" he asked while trying not to laugh.

"You're… you're trying that….reverse psy… reverse psyco… ah how the goddamn hell do you pronounce it?" Evan said as he stammered his words from struggling to concentrate while being so intoxicated.

Orren smirked. He didn't drink himself, and loved hustling all of the drunken men that came into his Father's bar. He liked to keep his mind focused at all times.

"Shut up Evan and make your call!" Terrell shouted. The other slightly younger co-worker was not as drunk as Evan, and was becoming impatient.

"Fine…" Evan said. "I'm going all in!" The onlookers gasped. Evan had just bet about half a week's wages.

"Well I'm folding." Terrell said.

"And I'll match your bet." Orren said with a smirk.

"You little… I thought you were bluffing!" he said, completely outraged.

"C'mon Evan. "Let's see what you got." Orren replied.

Evan laid out his cards. "I got a straight."

Orren did the same. "And I got a full house. Unlucky Evan."

As Orren scooped up the rather large amount of money, Evan stood up angrily. He was clearly not happy.

"I'm not having this!" he shouted, getting right up into Orren's face.

Orren smirked in the same cheeky way that he always did, "I won fair and square Evan. You were a good player but…"

"Don't try all that smooth talking crap with me!" Evan said furiously, before pausing to consider. "Hmm… you like to think you're good with knives don't you? How about a little challenge?"

"I'm listening." Orren replied. Orren stood tall, a rather lean man, caucasian with pale blue eyes and messy black hair. He gave off the impression that he was uninterested in what Evan had to say, slouching with an air of nonchalant about him, somewhat hiding the fact that his eyes told everyone he was in fact on full alert, carefully taking in everything everyone said around him.

"You and me go out to the parking lot, and throw a knife each at the target. Closest to the bullseye wins." Evan paused. "Double or quits."

The crowd gasped. Orren considered the proposal for a second, before replying "great! let's go then…. I have to admit I feel bad that you won't have any money to spend this week."

Evan stared him right in the eyes, starting to become less drunk what with everything that was going on. "Don't get cocky you little bugger. Let's not waste anymore time."

As Orren walked outside, Jessa and Jorah Harkon joined him.

"Hey Orren." Jessa said as she gave him a big kiss.

Orren smiled as he yet again wondered how he'd got so lucky. Jessa was a very pretty girl, with short wavy brown hair and hazel eyes. The last year with her had been one of the happiest of Orren's life.

"Hi Jessa. Anymore outbursts from your Father?" Orren said cheekily.

Jessa's face darkened slightly. "I still wish you hadn't done that! He's been a nightmare recently…"

"Still funny though." Jessa's twin brother, Jorah, chipped in and that set the cue for both him and Orren to fall about laughing. The two had met during pre school and been close friends ever since.

Jessa sighed. "I just wished you'd asked me first…"

"Wouldn't have been much of a marriage proposal would've it?" Orren said with a grin. He still found the whole situation so funny, which it had been anything but. Orren had recently asked Jessa's Father for her hand in marriage, and he had not reacted well, throwing a bottle at his head and telling him to stay the hell away from his daughter.

By this point they had reached the parking lot. It was a fairly warm evening in District 3, and the bet had attracted a fairly big crowd of customers from the bar and passers-by. Evan walked over with anger still written all over his face. "C'mon then boy." He said with a growl. "Time to see if you can walk the walk as well as talk the talk."

"Oh Evan" Orren said with a laugh. "No need to be angry. It's all fun and games. Who's going first?"

"I am." Evan simply said. "I'll show you how it's done."

The crowd watched with baited breath. Evan squinted his eyes, and threw an excellent throw, landing his knife just outside the bullseye.

The crowd cheered with excitement, as Evan handed the other knife to Orren with a smug look. "Time to hand over those winnings I reckon boy."

"Not bad old-timer. But it's not over yet."

Orren lined his body up with the target, as the crowd watched with great anticipation. A deathly hush fell over the crowd as Orren rose the knife over his shoulder and threw it with force.

The knife his the target right in the middle of the bullseye. As the crowd cheered, Orren turned to Jorah and Jessa.

"Looks like drinks are on me tonight!"

* * *

_(Day of the reapings)_

The small, pale skinned girl with shoulder length raven hair was sitting in her back garden, fiddling with some wires. Bree Lloyd was knelt down, attempting to test a small electric net she had created.

"So, it says says to connect this wire here…" she muttered to herself as she skimmed the big book that she had open next to her called _'A guide to Electronics Volume IV'._

Bree then stood up and smiled. It was ready.

She ran over to the big tree in their garden, and hid behind it, waiting for her prey. A squirrel appeared, darting around, only stopping when it saw the bait that Bree had laid. The squirrel darted over to pick up the nut, and began gobbling it greedily.

With a smile, Bree pressed the button to activate her trap.

The electric net dropped from the tree and landed directly on the squirrel, sending 150 volts of electricity coursing through its body. After a few seconds the electricity stopped, and the squirrel dropped to the ground.

Bree ran over from her hiding place to inspect her trap. She became very happy when she realised that her net had worked perfectly, the squirrel very much dead.

As she packed up all her equipment, her Mother Mariam opened the back door.

"Bree! What are you doing out here? Your friends are here to go to the reapings with you!"

Bree's heart sank. _The reapings! _She thought with panic rising up inside her.

"I'm coming Mom!" she replied as she hurried to pack her equipment up.

_The Hunger Games is no place for a girl like me. _she mused. _I wouldn't survive a minute in there. _She was thankful that she had never had to put her name in tesserae.

As Bree entered the house, she found her best friends Joleen and Royce sitting at the kitchen table. Joleen was a very pretty girl with long swirling blonde hair and bright green eyes, while her twin, Royce, had short, spiky hair and deep blue eyes.

"Hey Bree!" Joleen exclaimed as she got up and hugged her. "Oh my god, there's this party on Saturday, that you just have to come to Bree! It's at Tyrell's place, and there's gonna be so many cute boys!" Joleen said that last part with a wink.

Bree smiled politely, but Royce couldn't help himself.

"Why would she wanna go to that dumb party Joleen? You know that's not her thing."

"Oh don't be silly! You're just jealous cos you're not invited Royce." Joleen replied with a satisfied smile.

"Whatever." Royce said. He had lost interest. "I guess we'd better head to the reapings."

Royce was more like Bree, not caring for parties and being more interested in reading and learning. Bree sighed as she remember how she used to have a crush on him for years up until she was fifteen. She had loved how quirky and interesting he was, and how much he enjoyed experimenting with electronics like she did.

_But I'm over that now. _Bree thought. She had managed to suppress her feelings for Royce last year, wanting to concentrate on her studies. The emotions she had felt when trying to think about her feelings for Royce had also made her feel very down at times in the past, so she was pleased to leave all that behind.

"Yeah. Let's go." Bree said as they left the house.

* * *

The reapings were always a sombre affair. District 3 had only ever produced two winners in the thirty-four years of Hunger Games, and most District 3 tributes died in the bloodbath. The mayor of District 3 was visibly uncomfortable as he talked about the Hunger Games and then introduced the escort.

"Happy Happy Hunger Games!" the female escort said into the microphone with enthusiasm, seemingly oblivious to the sea of blank faces staring back at her.

Bree stood in the crowd of 16 years old, not listening to a word. She had her nose back in her book, and had reached a particularly interesting part.

"The female tribute this year is… Bree Lloyd!"

Bree gasped as she heard her name. She looked around frantically at the crowd of people looking at her, confirming her worst nightmare.

The peacekeepers were now moving over as Bree stood, frozen to the spot. As they dragged her up with little fuss, she could hear what she could only imagine to be her Mother wailing somewhere near the back.

As Bree stood on the stage, still stunned by what had just happened, the escort reached her hand into the male bowl.

"This year's male tribute is Orren Noults!"

Bree watched as a tall boy emerged from the 18 year old section and walked up to the stage, his face showing little emotion. Bree noticed he was almost slouching, as if he didn't care that he had just been sent to his death.

"Tributes, please shake hands!" the escort said excitedly.

As Bree shook hands with Orren, she realised her strength. Her intelligence.

_Why can't the Hunger Games be won with someone with a bit of intellect? _she thought as her brain began working furiously.

She was already starting to imagine all the scenarios in which she could use her traps in the Hunger Games.


	8. District 7 Reapings

**District 7 Tributes:**

**Azalea Tigris (18)  
**

**Nash Lockhart (15)**

* * *

_(Night before the reapings)_

It was 11 o'clock at night in District 7. Most of the District would be home at this time, in fear of being attacked by a criminal this late.

Two people, however, were jogging through one of the deserted streets. Gerald Tigris and his 18 year old daughter Azalea Tigris. Azalea was just coming to the end of her three hour evening training session, and she was exhausted. But she wouldn't show any weakness, not in front of her Father.

The two were out so late due to the fact that most criminals knew better than to cross these two. Gerald Tigris was an terrifying looking man, standing at 6 ft 6 with a very toned and muscled physique, and a completely bald head. Azalea was also intimidating, very tall for a girl with auburn hair, tanned skin and piercing green eyes. She also bore a scar on her forehead, from when her Dad had thrown a knife at her in a disagreement during training a few months back.

"Azalea, knees up, no slacking!" Gerald shouted at her fiercely as they jogged.

"Yes Father!" Azalea said with a huff, pushing herself to her absolute limit now, as she always did. The girl was always striving to be better than she was the previous day.

Many in the district considered what Gerald was doing cruel and selfish. But Azalea didn't know any different. For as long as she could remember, she had been training every day in preparation to volunteer for the Hunger Games when she was eighteen. And tomorrow was the day, at long last.

Azalea still remembered the first time her Father had talked to her about it...

* * *

_(Thirteen years ago)_

_Gerald walked into little 5 year old Azalea's room, and knelt down to make eye contact with her before handing her an axe._

_"Why are you giving me this Daddy?" she had asked._

_"My child. You are going to enter the Hunger Games when you turn eighteen. And you will win."_

_Little Azalea's face was full of confusion. "But Daddy, I don't want to go into the Hunger Games. They're bad!"_

_Gerald's face contorted in anger, as he grabbed Azalea forcefully. "Azalea, the Hunger Games will bring you glory and riches beyond your wildest dreams! Benefits from the Capitol. Your life sorted forever. Why do you think we live in such a nice house?"_

_Azalea looked around at her beautiful room, with its lovely wooden furniture and stunning decor._

_"Why do you think you have all these nice toys? Because I won the Hunger Games Azalea! That's why we can afford them!"_

_Gerald then calmed down slightly and sighed. "You'll understand when you're older…"_

* * *

_(Present day)_

And now Azalea did understand. She understood why she had to win the Hunger Games. Winning the games was a way of making a name for yourself, to escape the poor life in the districts, and to bring glory for your family. Gerald had won the 10th Hunger Games fifteen years ago when he was seventeen, and it had become one of the more well-known Hunger Games. Gerald's ability with an axe had been incredible, and he killed five tributes on his way to victory.

He became immensely popular with the Capitol, and as the years went on became more and more obsessed with enjoying his life of luxury, from living in the Victor's Village to the regular visits to the Capitol. He had always been tough with Azalea, but it got a lot worse when Ebony was killed.

Gerald's vision had always been that the Tigris family would all live in the Victor's Village as individual victors, making them one of the most famous families that the Capitol had ever known in the games. He trained Azalea's older sister Ebony in the same way that he trained Azalea, and she volunteered for the Hunger Games when she was eighteen three years ago.

Unfortunately, although Ebony reached the final eight, she was killed by the District 1 career. Azalea had watched her Father crumble in the days that followed, before he resolved to not let the same thing happen to her.

"Ok, you can stop now!" Gerald said as they reached a crossroads in the district. Azalea finally relaxed a bit, and Gerald raised an eyebrow at her. "Not feeling tired are you? You'd better be ready for the reapings tomorrow!"

"I am Dad. I promise." Azalea grinned in a rather sadistic way, as she said "I'm going to kill everyone I see once I get into that arena."

"Good girl. The Tigris family name will become legendary!"

* * *

_(Day of the reapings)_

"Hey! Nash!"

Nash turned around to see where the voice had come from. He had just finished work, and he wanted to get home and changed for the reapings. Work in the tree processing factory had made him big for his age, despite his skinniness due to malnourishment. His brown hair was also messy, full of wood shavings, and there was also evidence of an accident in the past at the factory in the form of his crooked nose.

It was Teek. He gave him a nod as Teek ran over to him, his blue eyes full of excitement.

"Hey man! Guess who's agreed to go on a date with me?" Teek said with a big smile.

Nash shrugged. "Who?" he asked.

"Carol Greene! You know, the cute blonde from our school?"

Nash nodded in acknowledgement.

"Well I think she's great man, because she told me she thought I was cute, and…"

Nash was happy to let Teek ramble on as he half-listened and nodded. As much as he liked Teek, he had to admit that he found it annoying when Teek went on and on about something that to Nash, didn't seem that important.

Nash had more important things to worry about than his friend's love life. As they reached his house, Nash said goodbye to Teek and went inside and straight up to his Mother's bedroom.

As he got there, his Father, Aspen, was already there, sitting next to her.

"Ssh, she's asleep." Aspen whispered, as he tiptoed out the room to join Nash.

Nash looked at his Mother. He had still not fully taken in that his sweet, loving Mother had cancer. The district doctors had said that it was some form of unrecognised mutated cancer, and she would need Capitol treatment. Treatment that the Lockharts could not afford.

Aspen shut the door and walked further down the hallway with Nash, away from the bedroom.

"How is she doing?" Nash asked with a worried voice.

Aspen sighed. The man was emotionally drained. "Not good son." he said gravely.

"The doctor came round today didn't he? How long did he say she has?"

Tears began to well up in Aspen's eyes. "They said about three months at most Nash." He paused, and then began to sob, unable to be strong any longer. "I'm sorry son, I need to be alone…"

He rushed off downstairs, leaving Nash on his own. He stood for a minute, processing what he had just been told, until suddenly his younger sister Laurel popped her head out from their bedroom door.

"Are you ok Nash?" she asked, making him jump.

"I'm fine Laurel." he said, not wanting to tell her what he'd just heard. As he walked into their shared bedroom, he spotted a book on Laurel's bed called _'A History of Religion.'_

"What's that Laurel? he asked, pointing at the book, glad to have an opportunity to steer the conversation away from their Mother.

"It's really interesting actually. It says how up until about three hundred years ago, there were a lot of these beliefs called religions around."

"What are religions?" Nash asked.

"It was like a set of beliefs that people would abide by, and there would normally be a god, sort of like an omnibenevolent and omnipotent being, who would supposedly watch over earth. For example, there was a religion called Christianity who's followers believed that if you led a good life and didn't sin, you would go to a place called heaven, where all your desires would come true. If you sin, you went to hell."

Nash was taking every word in, enjoying hearing Laurel talk so knowledgeably about it. It didn't matter what topic it was, Nash always enjoyed learning things from his sister.

_"She's so smart." _Nash thought to himself. However, what Laurel asked him next threw him off guard.

"Nash, do you think Mommy will go to heaven or hell?"

Nash froze, unsure of how to respond. "C'mon sis, you don't even know if this stuff is real…"

But Laurel persisted. "But what if it is? I don't want Mom to go to hell. Do you think she's ever sinned? I don't know if…"

But Nash cut her off suddenly. "Just leave it! Don't talk about her dying you idiot!" he shouted right in Laurel's face.

Laurel was taken aback, and the pair of them froze for a second, letting the awkwardness hang in the air. Then Laurel started crying, big tears rolling down her face and onto the floor.

Nash immediately pulled her into an embrace, and the two of them cried together.

"I'm just gonna… sniff… miss her so much!" Laurel said, wiping away tears.

Nash had no words. He could only muster a grunt in agreement as he continued crying himself.

* * *

"The female tribute this year is… Janna Gable!"

As a meek looking fifteen year old walked up the stage, the escort asked "Are there any volunteers?"

"I VOLUNTEER!" Azalea shouted as she made her way up to the stage.

Many people clapped and cheered for her as she made her way up to the stage, pleased that they had a tribute who actually stood a chance this year, and who could bring some prosperity to District 7.

"What's your name dear?" the escort asked.

"Azalea Tigris!" she replied, nodding at her Father, who was sitting with the other victors, his face almost expressionless from that distance, but from close up the victors sitting near him could detect a hint of pride.

"The daughter of Gerald Tigris? Well this should certainly be an interesting games…" the escort said excitedly. "And now for the boys!"

"The male tribute this year is Nash Lockhart!"

Azalea watched as a boy emerged from the 15 year old section and made his way up to the stage, looking very upset. As he arrived on the stage and shook her hand, Azalea noticed some tears in his eyes.

_Ha! _Azalea thought to herself. _What a pathetic looking boy... he'll be bloodbath for sure.  
_

* * *

**Hi guys, hope you're all enjoying what I've written so far!**

**Just wanted to say that I'd love to hear feedback from more people who are reading this story. So if anyone wants to drop me a review I'd really appreciate it :) **

**By the way all the reapings should hopefully be uploaded by the end of this week.**

**Thanks!**


	9. District 11 Reapings

**District 11 Tributes:**

Lily Star (16)

Vern Tillier (18)

* * *

_"Mommy! Daddy!"_

_The little girl shrieked in despair as Mr and Mrs Star were led out of their house in handcuffs by peacekeepers._

_"Where are you going? Mommy? Daddy?" Lily screamed._

_"We're just going away for a while sweetheart… see you soon I promise."_

And with that, Lily Star suddenly woke up.

She sat up in a panic, and looked around the room frantically, before sighing when she realised that it was just another one of her nightmares. It had been almost five years since her parents had been executed by the Capitol. Lily had never truly found out what they had done exactly, all she knew was that they had been rebels.

_Reaping day. _Lily suddenly remembered. She got out of bed and pulled on a long black dress which had belonged to her mother. Lily was a rather pretty girl, petite with dark skin, gold eyes, and curly hair that she was now putting up into a bun.

However, no-one in the district saw that sweet pretty girl that she could have been. All they saw was a rebellious girl who trusted no-one. Ever since she had stabbed the head peacekeeper in the hand, people in the district feared her.

When the head peacekeeper had arranged to meeting with Lily to talk to her about her parents being rebels, Lily had stabbed him through the hand in anger when he had insulted them.

Lily was brutally whipped for this, and she still bore the scars across her back.

Lily went downstairs, to see her 12 year old sister Willow and 8 year old brother Pine already up.

"Morning Lily!" Pine said.

"Morning Pine." Lily replied with a smile. Pine was still so innocent.

Willow was quieter, but Lily knew why. It was her first reaping, and the poor girl had been losing sleep over it for weeks.

"Are you ok Willow?" Lily asked, as she gave her sister a hug.

Willow was teary. "I just can't stand the thought of being reaped. Please don't let them take me Lily."

Lily hugged her sister tighter. "You won't get reaped. Your name's only in there once. and District 11 is a big district."

Lily should have been more worried for herself. Her name was in there twenty-one times, as she had been receiving tesserae for herself and her two siblings every year since she was 12.

"Please don't let them take you either Lily." Willow said, beginning to cry softly.

Lily sighed. She really couldn't promise anything at this stage.

* * *

Vern Tillier was working hard out in the fields of District 11. The work was suited to him, standing at six feet six inches, strong despite his skinny appearance. Vern was dark skinned with brown eyes and messy hair.

As he worked picking blueberries off the trees, Emelia, a pretty girl who worked with Vern, skipped over.

"Hey Vern!" she said brightly as she bounced up to him.

"Hey…" Vern said as he took a step back.

Emelia was taken aback by this for a second, before brushing it off.

"So how are you doing Vern? Looking forward to getting the reaping out the way?"

Vern was visibly nervous. "Yeah I guess."

"Well I was thinking, since it's our last reaping, I figured we could go for a drink down at Molly's bar after to celebrate? You up for it?" Emelia said with a big smile.

Vern stammered. "Erm… you know Emelia, I'd love to, but I have to help my aunt later… I'm sorry." he said as he looked down at the ground.

Emelia was visibly disappointed. "Oh, ok Vern…. maybe another time?"

"Yeah. Another time."

There was an awkward air for a moment, before Emelia regained her composure. "Ok Vern, see you later then! Good luck at the reapings."

Vern muttered "you too" as Emelia walked off.

He then sighed, kicking himself. He really did like Emelia, but his nerves was just too much for him.

_I know i'd make a fool out of myself. _He said, as he began to walk to the reapings.

Vern had always been a nervous boy, which could be attributed to his upbringing. He had been an accident baby of a peacekeeper and a poor citizen of District 11. The peacekeeper had abandoned Vern's Mother, and Vern was subsequently left on the doorstep of the District 11 community home. There, he had struggled to make friends, and had not been adopted due to his shyness.

However, when he was sixteen, one of the workers named Sarah, who had grown to become more and more fond of Vern, decided to take him in. Vern thought the world of her, and was eternally grateful to a woman he considered his best and only real friend. He even called her Aunt Sarah now.

As Vern got the bus to the district centre, be was struck, as he was every year, by how depressing the mood was on reaping day in District 11. Everybody had their heads hanging in sadness, and no-one was talking or laughing, the bus in complete silence.

When he reached the district centre, the mood was much the same. District 11 had only ever produced one winner in the history of the Hunger Games, and he was now an alcoholic. Vern could see him sitting up in the victor's stand, looking miserable.

As Vern took his place amongst the 18 year olds, their female escort trotted onto the stage.

_What a different life they have to us… _Vern thought as he looked at the escort, dressed in a tight pink dress with her hair in multicolour streaks. She looked like she was about to topple over at any second with the ridiculously high heels she was wearing.

After the escort had finished reading the generic speeches that were the same every year, she announced "First, our female tribute…"

"Lily Star!"

No-one moved from the girl's section.

"Lily Star!" the escort repeated.

The crowd moved away from a girl who was standing defiant, not moving. As Vern looked over, he realised who she was. The infamous girl who had stabbed the head peacekeeper through the hand five years ago.

"I accept that I'm selected, but I'm not going to play any part in this. I'm not walking up to the stage." Lily shouted.

Peacekeepers moved towards her and dragged her up to the stage. She didn't fuss, but did not make any effort to move, staying stubborn to not being part of the Capitol's sick game.

The escort did not even bother trying to talk to her, as Lily was finally put on the stage. But the crowd began to clap and cheer the defiant young girl.

The escort looked worried, before shouting as loud as she could into the microphone. "And now for the MALE TRIBUTE."

The crowd quietened down, and waited in anticipation.

"The male tribute is Vern Tillier!"

Vern's heart sunk. _No._ He thought. _On my last year as well. _

He began to shakily walk up to the stage, and the escort greeted him with enthusiasm as he arrived, obviously pleased that he hadn't tried to cause a mini rebellion as well.

"Congratulations young man!" she said with enthusiasm. Vern simply looked down at the ground.

She then turned to the crowd, as she announced "Your tributes for District 11 everybody! Happy Hunger Games!"


	10. District 6 Reapings

**District 6 Tributes:**

**Medusa Krinvox (14)**

**Bryce Lichen (17)**

* * *

_(Two years ago)_

_Bryce was walking home from work at the motor factory. He had been forced to start working there two years ago to support his family, after his Mother had left them and his father had become a drug addict. As Bryce reached his house, he pushed open the door._

_It was there that the most horrific sight greeted him._

_His 12 year old Brother Jonah was lying on the floor, with blood pouring out from his chest and stomach. Stood over him was their Father, with a bloodied knife in his hand, shaking from his morphling fuelled rage. Bryce did not move for a second. _

_But then suddenly, he lost it._

_"RAAGHHH!" Bryce screamed as he charged towards his Father._

_His Father had his back turned to Bryce, and so was caught completely by surprise as Bryce punched him hard in the back of the head._

_Owen fell sideways, and smacked the side of his head against the corner of the wooden table, before collapsing and lying very still._

_Bryce did not care enough to check his Father, as he ran over to his brother._

_"C'mon Jonah, please don't die, please mate…" Bryce sobbed as he could do nothing but hold him, as he passed._

_Everything fell silent for a minute, the only audible sound being Bryce's sobs as he held Jonah in his arms._

_The silence was broken by peacekeepers bursting in through the door._

_One of them pointed his gun at Bryce. "Bryce Lichen, you are under arrest for the murder of Owen Lichen and Jonah Lichen."_

* * *

_(Present day)_

And that was how he had ended up here.

Bryce stood in the prison courtyard, attending to the baby birds he was hand-raising. They were three beautiful looking creatures, who always became excited when Bryce came to see them.

"Hey Bryce, hurry up! I wanna get going with training!"

His friend Tim Bolton was calling him over. Bryce finished attending to his birds before hurrying over to him.

"C'mon Bryce, get on the bench! Show me how much you can lift." his friend Tim said with a air of challenge about his voice.

Bryce was all too happy to show off his strength. He was a strong stocky boy, of average height for his age, with shaggy, dark brown hair and dark blue eyes. His high cheekbones and pointed nose give him a mischievous appearence.

He lay down on the bench. "Put 100 Kg on the bar." he said to Tim.

Tim raised an eyebrow. "Someone's feeling confident today."

"I've got to be really. I'm entering the Hunger Games today aren't I?"

Tim opened his mouth in shock as Bryce bench pressed 100 kg with relative ease.

"Entering… the Hunger Games? But Bryce, why?"

Bryce grunted as he put the weights back down and sat up. "Tim, we're almost eighteen. Soon we'll be moved to the adult prison. Do you know how awful it's supposed to be in there? Proper, hardcore criminals. Rapists. Who will all be considerably older than we are."

Tim gulped as Bryce continued.

"You'll be ok Tim. You're only in prison for another year or so, and then you're free to return to normal life. I'm not going to that hellhole to serve my life sentence. If I win the Hunger Games, I'll be pardoned. I'll live in the Victor's Village and be rich and famous. No peacekeeper will ever touch me again."

Tim nodded his head. "I understand buddy. I'll miss you though."

Bryce smiled. "I'll miss you too man. There's one thing that I've gotta do before we get transported down to the reapings though."

Tim didn't even have time to ask what he was going to do before Bryce picked up a brick and walked over to one of the most vicious boys in the prison, a guy named Raymon Katz. Bryce and him had had their fair share of disagreements in the past.

As Bryce came closer, Raymon and his gang of cronies took an aggressive stance.

"What the hell do you want Lichen?" Raymon shouted at him.

Bryce smiled. "Just wanted to tell you that I'm entering the Hunger Games this year."

Raymon laughed. "Haha! You entering the Hunger Games! Well I'll all say is I look forward to watching you die."

Bryce just kept smiling. "Just wanted to give you a little goodbye present before I volunteer though."

And before anyone could react, Bryce smashed the brick over Raymon's head.

* * *

"You whore! I'll kill you! Adriene shrieked

Medusa Krinvox was holding her fists up, with the other girl Adriene doing the same. They were circling each other in one of the trainyards of District 6, waiting for one of them to make the first move.

Medusa was a tough looking girl, fairly tall with olive skin and raven black hair, which was long and shiny. She had ice green eyes, and a scar which ran across her left cheekbone, a result of a fight she had lost in the past.

As the girls continued circling each other, Adriene decided she had had enough. With a yell, she lunged at Medusa with a punch. Medusa had been expecting this. She deftly dodged to the side, before bringing her elbow crashing down onto Adriene's head. Adriene screamed in pain, as Medusa pulled her up before kneeing her hard in the stomach.

Adriene keeled over onto the ground, the wind completely knocked out of her. Medusa lifted the girl's head up by her hair, displaying no emotion whatsoever.

"Come near me again. You're dead." she said with complete calmness.

She walked away towards the district centre, as it was getting closer to reaping time. As she walked, her mind turned to her other favourite form of entertainment. Pranks. Medusa was a devil of pranks, whether it be her aunt, other kids at school, or even the peacekeepers.

And today Medusa had a fantastic prank planned. She had managed to obtain a box of illegal fireworks from the District 6 black market, and was planning to cause quite the scene today.

She reached the district centre early, before the peacekeepers had even taken positions around the stage. As she sneaked under the stage where the escort would stand to announce the chosen tributes, she found the box of fireworks still hidden underneath the stage.

She quickly got to work, laying out a long fuse trial, so that when she lit it, it would take a few minutes for the fireworks to go off. She was just finishing as the district centre began filling up, so Medusa quickly lit the fuse and got out from under the stage, and blended into the crowds of people without the peacekeepers seeing her.

She joined the fourteen year old section just as the escort arrived on the stage. He was a short, rather plump man, with a bowler hat and a ridiculous curly moustache.

Medusa waited with excitement as the escort began his announcements.

"And first for the…" but the escort was cut off as a series of bangs went off loudly, and the fireworks started to come flying out from underneath the stage. People screamed and ran in all directions as the fireworks came hurtling towards them, with mass panic everywhere.

In all this, Medusa stood calmly, quietly enjoying the show. It took a full fifteen minutes for the peacekeepers to restore order.

The escort was back on the stage, trying to regain some sort of composure, but he was annoyed. He had lost his bowler hat in all the chaos.

"Ahem…. and the female tribute for this year is… Medusa Krinvox."

Medusa did not react. She simply walked up to the stage and stood next to the escort. He, and several of the citizens of District 6, were clearly creeped out by the girl's piercing green eyes and non-emotional expression.

"You skank!" came a shout from the girl's section.

The escort was completely confused. _Dear God, what is wrong with this district? _he thought to himself as he drew out the male name's tribute.

"Nickolas Rosales" he announced.

As a fourteen year old emerged from the boy's section, a shout came.

"I volunteer!"

As the escort looked to see where the voice had come from, his heart sunk as he realised that it had come from the section for young offenders and that one of them was now being escorted up to the stage in handcuffs.

_What kind of tributes am I looking after this year? _The escort wondered in desperation.

* * *

As Bryce stood on the stage, he smiled.

_He was free._


	11. District 8 Reapings

**District 8 Tributes:**

**Audrey Manzel (14)**

**Teddy Garland (16)**

* * *

Teddy Garland sat at the table he had set up in his room, in a very happy place right now. He was just putting the finishing touches to his latest creation, a beautiful red dress.

As he held up his creation, he smiled with pride. The dress had come out beautifully, long and flowing. Teddy was lucky, as his sister worked for the best dress maker in town, and so therefore was often able to blag a bit of material for Teddy to use.

His sister Olivia popped her head in at that moment. "Hey Teddy. How's the dress coming along?"

Teddy held up the dress. "I-I just finished it. W-What do you think?"

"It's amazing Teddy." Olivia replied, beaming. "You have a real talent." Olivia, who was twenty-three, adored Teddy, and the feeling was very much mutual.

Teddy had always struggled to make friends and was bullied at school, due to being shy and unconfident about his appearance. He was a very small boy, with an incredibly pale face and spiky dark brown hair. He had attractive big hazel eyes, but these were normally hid behind his chunky classes. His stutter didn't help his self-esteem either. Teddy was just thankful he had Olivia, the only person in the world he could share his deepest feelings with, and that he could trust.

"Hey Teddy, I lost my folder with my notes. Can you tell me the list of the customers' dress sizes today?" Olivia asked.

Teddy smiled. "Sure O-Olivia. Mrs Whitmore w-was 34 Inches bust, 26.75 inches w-waist, 38.75 inches h-hips. Mrs Hawley was…"

Olivia smiled as she wrote everything Teddy said down. She was lucky that Teddy had seen the list before she had lost it. He had an incredible photogenic memory, with the ability to recall images in memory with great precision.

Teddy finished listing the measurements. "Thanks Teddy." Olivia said with a smile. "You'd better get ready now. It's almost time for the reapings."

Teddy's face flushed with panic. He had forgotten that today was the dreaded day of the reapings, what with being lost in his own little world of designing.

Teddy had never had to take out tesserae due to his sister's job, but the thought of being reaped still terrified him. His only other friend apart from Olivia, Werner Henley, had been reaped last year.

Teddy still remembered his horrible death like it was yesterday.

* * *

_(One year ago)_

_Teddy watched the big screen put up in the district centre. It was day three of the 34th Hunger Games. Thirteen were dead, but Werner was still alive, moving through the forest in the arena holding a knife. He was with a girl from District 10 that he had formed an alliance with. _

_Teddy watched as suddenly, the girl from 10 dropped to the ground, an arrow sticking out of the back of her head. _

_"Oooh! Looks like Werner has got some running to do. Here come the careers!" The commentator was getting very excited about the upcoming battle._

_Teddy watched as Werner fled through the forest, with the five tribute strong career alliance not far behind. The leader, a brute from District 2 called Malik, was shouting obsceneties at Werner._

_Werner reached the edge of the forest and burst out of it, but he had nowhere left to run. In front of him was a sharp drop off the edge of a cliff. Werner turned around to see the careers bursting through the trees._

_He backed off as Malik approached him with a big grin on his face. _

_"Don't run away from me!" Malik yelled as he kicked Werner to the ground._

_"Please don't kill me. I'll do anything. I'll help you, please!" Werner begged._

_Malik simply laughed as he raised his sword high._

_And Teddy could only watch in horror as Malik brought it straight down through Werner's heart._

* * *

_(Present day)_

Teddy tried to put the thoughts of the games and the careers out of his head, as he got dressed in a grey button-down shirt tucked into his off-white shorts.

And with a sigh, he headed downstairs.

* * *

Audrey, Maya, and Simone were sitting in their local cafe, enjoying some breakfast. It was a fairly run-down cafe with rather average food, but the girls loved it here. They had been hanging out here for a couple of years now, and always had a good laugh. Today, Audrey was up to her usual tricks.

Maya and Simone were encouraging her as she balanced a spoon on the tip of her nose, trying to break her record. Many other people looked on in annoyance as Audrey and her friends laughed hysterically, but the girls didn't care. They knew they were immature, but they enjoyed being this way.

Audrey was a tall and thin girl with pale skin. She had thick, medium-length wavy brown hair and hazel eyes. She was often told that she could look really pretty if she made more of an effort, but Audrey let these comments go right over her head. She didn't take kindly to people trying to tell her what to do.

"Look out Audrey, here comes James." Maya whispered

"Shut up!" Audrey hissed menacingly at her as James walked into the cafe.

He walked past their table, as Audrey said "Hi James" with a big smile.

James muttered "Hi" in response, before turning to talk to Simone.

Audrey sighed. She was almost giving up on James, as she had given off so many hints about how much she liked him, but he just never seemed to return the feelings. What Audrey didn't know however, was that James secretly liked her back, but just didn't want to show it for fear of being rejected.

As James walked away, Audrey hung her head, in a sad mood now. Maya and Simone noticed this, and began to comfort her.

But Audrey's day was about to get worse. Mallie Horner, one of the so called popular girls from her school, walked into the cafe accompanied by her usual gang of followers.

As they walked by Audrey's table, Audrey couldn't help but mutter "Skanks" as the group of girls walked by.

Mallie heard her and walked over to Audrey's table. "What was that Audrey?" she said with a hiss.

Audrey looked at her directly in the face. "You heard me" Audrey still bore a long-standing grudge against Mallie for ripping her dress during the reaping last year.

Mallie smirked. "I don't know who you think you're talking to. I mean look at you! What is that skirt?"

Audrey paused for a second, observing Mallie's irritated face. "Well at least I haven't been behind the bike shed with half our class…"

That comment really got to Mallie. "How dare you!" she yelled. Their conversation by this point had attracted onlookers in the cafe.

Audrey smirked, and with that Mallie slapped her, hard, across the face.

Audrey continued smirking, and got up, facing Mallie. "I didn't feel a thing you bitch. Congenital insensitivity to pain."

Mallie looked confused. "I knew you wouldn't know what it meant. Look it up" Audrey said as she punched Mallie in the nose.

* * *

Teddy was standing in the crowd of sixteen year olds, waiting for the reaping to begin. The female escort walked up onto the stage, this year dressed in a red corset with her make up heavily done up around the eyes. Many people around Teddy laughed, but he couldn't help but stare with fascination. For a boy like Teddy, the chance to experience the Capitol fashion scene would be a dream come true.

It was then that Teddy noticed Carson standing nearby. Carson was a gorgeous boy, with blonde hair, sparkling blue eyes, and a well toned body.

_Perfection. _Teddy thought.

Ever since Carson had helped Teddy with his bag when it had split once in school, Teddy had become enamoured with the boy. He was often too shy to talk to him however, and could certainly not confess his feelings to him. No-one knew that Teddy was gay, not even Olivia.

"So let's start with the female tribute!" the escort announced brightly as she dipped her hand into one of the bowls. Teddy snapped back to focusing his attention on the escort.

"The female tribute this year is Audrey Manzel!"

Teddy watched as a girl emerged from the fourteen year old section with little fuss.

"I volunteer!" came a cry from the seventeen year old section.

The girl named Audrey shouted "No Idina!" as she ran up to the stage, beating her older sister up there. Peacekeepers had to hold Idina back as she still tried to get to the stage, screaming.

The escort smiled with enthusiasm. "So great to see volunteers from an non-career district… and now for the boys!"

_Please no, please. _Teddy begged silently in his head.

"Teddy Garland"


	12. District 9 Reapings

**District 9 Tributes:**

**Fenella Reed (16)**

**Patrick 'Paddy' Ackerman (13)**

* * *

_(Night before the reapings)_

"Hurry up Paddy!"

The small boy with the freckled face worked furiously at the lock, moving the hair pin around it deftly.

"C'mon mate, someone's bound to walk by soon!" his friend Donnie whispered loudly at him.

"Almost there… got it!" Paddy stood up with triumph all over his face.

He carefully opened the door quietly as him and Donnie entered the back door of the butcher's. It was the best butcher's in town, and was like paradise for two malnourished boys like Paddy and Donnie.

"Ok quick, grab everything you can!" Donnie said as the pair began stuffing all the meat that they could into their sacks.

Paddy Ackerman was a small boy, even for his age. He was small due to being malnourished, and had fiery red hair and freckles. Paddy's parents had died two years ago, and he had wandered the streets on his own for several weeks, surviving off whatever scraps of food he could scrounge.

But then, he had met Donnie. An older boy who was now seventeen, he had taken Paddy into his home after seeing him rummaging around in a bin one day. Donnie had promised Paddy a place to sleep and food, as long as he helped him out on a few 'jobs'.

It was from that point onwards that Donnie had taught Paddy how to be an excellent thief. Breaking into shops and houses, pickpocketing, you name it, Donnie was an expert on it and had taught Paddy everything he knew. The two boys were never violent though. Donnie disagreed with violence on every front.

Paddy licked his lips as he shoved several packs of sausages into his sack. This line of work did certainly have its benefits, and he couldn't wait to get this food cooked.

Then suddenly, they heard footsteps, and low voices. Donnie froze and pressed a finger to his lips, motioning Paddy to follow his lead. Donnie walked over to one of the windows at the front of the store, and peeked out, where he saw exactly what he didn't want to see.

Peacekeepers. About five of them were getting out of cars, and pointing at the butcher's.

_Someone obviously told them!_ Donnie thought furiously.

He turned to Paddy. "C'mon kid, we're getting out of here! Peacekeepers!"

Paddy quickly finished filling his sack, and together the two of them moved quietly towards the back door, desperately trying not to make a sound. As they reached outside and moved away from the butcher's, Paddy gave Donnie a quick thumbs-up. Everything was going to be alright.

"HEY!"

Paddy and Donnie spun their heads around in alarm. They saw a burly peacekeeper, shining his torch at them, he was clearly fuming.

"Hold it right there you scum!" the peacekeeper shouted.

Paddy and Donnie did the exact opposite, turning on their heels and sprinting as fast as they could away from the peacekeeper. He yelled after them, but they hardly heard it as they ran away.

They kept on running through the urban maze that was District 9, passing by all the enormous factories used for grain processing. Thinking that they had escaped, they allowed themselves to slow down.

But then they saw the peacekeepers again. They were not giving up this chase, and even had a couple of dogs with them, who were barking aggressively.

"Ok kid, we've gotta split up! I'll go towards the factory area to the west, and you run towards the district centre. We'll reconvene later at the house, got that?" Donnie asked.

Paddy nodded as the two split up. Two peacekeepers came after him, but Paddy noticed that the two with the dogs had gone after Donnie. His heart sank, but he had to keep running. There was no time to think about anyone else right now.

"In the name of President Neal, I order you to stop!" one of the peacekeepers yelled as they continued their pursuit of Paddy.

He was faster though, and his small size meant he was more nimble and agile. Once he had got a good distance ahead of the peacekeepers, he ducked down into a small side alleyway, and smiled as he saw the peacekeepers continue running down the street.

He waited there for a good twenty minutes, before finally deciding it was time to go home. Once he made it there, he saw that there was no sign of Donnie.

_I'm sure he'll be back soon_. He thought to himself as he sat down at the table.

But the hours passed, and still he didn't return. Paddy's worry increased, and he couldn't sleep. What if Donnie had been caught?

He ended up spending a very lonely night in the house.

* * *

_(Seven years ago)_

_Nine year old Fenella Reed was walking home from taking her little five year old sister Skye out in the District centre. They had had a great evening, as there had been a carnival in town due to the victory tour of the latest Hunger Games, with lots of games and food and fun. Fun was something that District 9 most definitely needed._

_"I loved tonight Feni!" Skye squealed, still over-excited by the evening's events. "The rides were amazing!"_

_Fenella smiled. "I'm glad we went Skye. Now how about we…" But she stopped as they reached their home._

_Several peacekeepers were mingling around the front of their house, looking very serious. Fenella felt fear rising within her, as she picked up Skye and ran over to one of the peacekeepers. _

_"Stay back kid!" The peacekeeper said, putting a hand up to stop her. "This is serious business."_

_"Please, this is my home! What happened?" Fenella begged._

_The peacekeepers in District 9 could be slightly more sympathetic than other districts. He sighed, as he knelt down and put a hand on Fenella's shoulder._

_"Listen kid, I don't know how to tell you this, but…" He began._

_But it was at that point that their parents bodies were brought out on stretchers, and Fenella didn't need to hear anymore._

* * *

_(Present day)_

Fenella would never be able to get that memory out of her head.

As she worked in the grain fields of District 9 with her scythe, she thought back to her parents. She missed them so much.

When they had died, her and Skye had been sent to the district orphanage. Life was hard in the orphanage of a poor district, and as a result of this Fenella had learnt to keep herself to herself, not making any friends. The only person she cared about was Skye, who she fiercely protected and looked after in the orphanage.

As Fenella continued working, a new boy called Elwood who had recently started working in the same field as her was walking towards her. He was fascinated by the girl with cold, calculating, green eyes, with pale skin and long blonde hair that she kept in messy fishtail braids. Elwood really wanted to find out more about the girl who kept herself so closed up.

"Hey." he said as he approached her.

Fenella gave him a curt nod in response.

"So… what's your name?" Elwood asked.

"Fenella."

There was a pause as Fenella continued working. Elwood then spoke again. "So… aren't you gonna ask me my name?"

"Do I look like I care about your name?" Fenella replied, without even looking at Elwood.

Elwood was surprised by this response, but brushed it off and persisted. He loved a challenge.

"So Fenella… how about you and me hang out sometime?" Elwood said with a grin.

Fenella turned around. "Look yeah, I'm not interested, so back off."

Elwood continued grinning, as he said "Aw c'mon, I'm sure we'd have a good time…"

He was cut off by Fenella punching him across the face. Elwood fell to the ground, completely taken by surprise.

"I did warn you." Fenella said, and walked away as Elwood lay on the ground, whimpering.

_What a wimp. _Fenella thought as she headed towards the district centre. Her morning shift at the grain fields was over, and it was almost time for the reapings.

Fenella did not fear the Hunger Games herself so much, but feared for her sister. Because of Fenella protecting her during her life, Skye was not quite as tough as Fenella, and would be a bloodbath tribute for sure.

_Mind you, that'd be no different to most of the other District 9 tributes. _Fenella thought darkly to herself. District 9 held the rather awful record of having the highest amount of bloodbath deaths in the history of the Hunger Games. It was no wonder that they'd only ever had two victors.

She took her place amongst the other sixteen year olds, wishing that they'd hurry up and get it over and done with. Fenella always found that the whole procedure, with its speeches and all that rubbish, dragged on longer than it should.

"And now for the female tribute…" the escort announced. Fenella waited with baited breath.

_Please don't let it be Skye, please._

"The female tribute for District 9 this year is Fenella Reed!"

* * *

Paddy watched as a girl from the sixteen year old section with the most composed face he had ever seen from a District 9 tribute walk up onto the stage.

_I'd never be able to be that composed. _Paddy thought to himself. He was already feeling paranoid today, what with Donnie not returning and a couple of peacekeepers giving him suspicious looks as he had walked around the district centre.

"The male tribute this year is… Patrick Ackerman!"

Paddy froze with horror as he realised he'd been reaped. As he walked up the stage slowly, his whole body shaking, he noticed one of the peacekeepers grinning broadly at him. Paddy recognised him as one of the ones that had chased him last night, and what he was communicating to Paddy through his facial expression was all too easy to read.

_You're going to die._


	13. District 1 Reapings

**Hi everyone, hope you're all enjoying the story and thank you for all the reviews!**

Just wanted to let you know that this is the final reapings chapter, so after this the next chapter will be the train rides, where we will finally get to see some interaction between tributes!

**Also, I've added a poll on my profile in order to vote for which tributes you like the most so far. You can vote for up to three tributes, and if you're a creator for a tribute in this story please don't vote for your own tribute!**

**The outcome of the poll will not affect who dies/who survives the bloodbath, it's just for my own curiosity as to which characters people are enjoying the most. **

**Would really appreciate it if anyone voted :)**

**Thanks!**

* * *

**District 1 Reapings:**

Bluebell Jamison (18)

Velour and Shimmer Gemine (18)

* * *

Bluebell Jamison lay in her double bed, completely content. She was lying next to her fiancé Blaise Kendall, and as she watched him sleeping, she once again noted what a fine specimen of a man he was. Standing tall with a well defined body, and black hair combed into a tidy quiff.

Bluebell was a rather beautiful girl herself, tall and slender, with long black hair, olive skin, and large blue eyes. A lot of the men in District 1 were extremely attracted to her, but only one had ever caught her attention properly. And that was the man that slept next to her right now. She was so pleased that her parents had approved of her engagement, and although she knew that this was largely down to Blaise being very rich, she was still happy.

Blaise woke up at that moment, and rolled over to look Bluebell directly in the face.

"Morning beautiful." he said in his sexy voice.

Bluebell smiled, and gave him a long and passionate kiss. After the kiss they held each other for a while, before Blaise broke the silence.

"So, are you definitely volunteering?"

"Yep." Bluebell replied with a grin. "I can't wait! I've been waiting for this day for years now."

Blaise looked downcast. "But Bluebell, I really think…"

But Bluebell cut him off. "Don't start this again! You're not going to convince me to not volunteer! The head of the training centre personally selected me to be the female tribute this year, and I'm not going to let him down! It's my final year as well!"

Blaise looked at her sadly. "I understand darling. But I'm just going to miss you so much."

Bluebell softened. "Aww babe, I'm gonna miss you too, you know I will! But you know I'll be home as victor soon, and then we can be in the Victor's Village and live like Kings!"

"But we don't need the Victor's Village." Blaise replied. "I have all the money we could possibly need. Especially since we're engaged now…. I just thought we could buy one of the nicest houses in District 1 and live happily."

Bluebell got up, annoyed. "Don't try and guilt trip me Blaise. I'm entering the Hunger Games, I have to."

"Now…" Bluebell bounced over to her cupboard, and pulled on a long-sleeved, dark blue knee-length dress with matching heels.

"How hot do I look?" she said to Blaise with a cheeky wink.

Blaise sighed. "You look beautiful my love. Just like you always do."

* * *

In the District 1 training centre, a potential volunteer for today's reapings was currently fighting against four trainers. Four against one would normally be a ridiculously unfair fight for a tribute.

But this was no typical tribute.

Velour and Shimmer Gemine were conjoined twins, pygopagus (two bodies joined at the pelvis) twins to be specific. They both had identical messy black hair flecked with white and grey eyes so pale that the irises were almost indistinguishable from the whites. They also both had long arms and legs.

Right now, Velour was facing forward against two of the trainers, while Shimmer was facing backwards against the other two. Despite having been training here for years, it was still an unnerving feeling for the trainers to see the boys blinking at the same time and breathing at the same pace.

As the trainers approached Velour and Shimmer to attack, Velour raised both the swords he had in each hand to adopt a defensive stance, and Shimmer did the same.

"Get ready to see…" Shimmer said.

"….The most exquisite display of sword-fighting you have ever seen." Velour finished.

The trainers charged forward, with Velour blocking one attacker with his left sword before stabbing at the other trainer with his right sword, causing him to back off. Meanwhile, Shimmer blocked two attacks at the same time from the other trainers with both his swords, before forcefully pushing back against the two, causing them to fall over in a heap.

Then, the two turned, and in unison charged towards the two trainers that were still standing, all four legs moving at an impressive speed, just as their trainer, Silkie, walked over.

"Ok that's enough boys!" she shouted.

As the twins stopped and walked over to Silkie, Shimmer began talking excitedly.

"Did to see the way I blocked that attack Silkie? I feel so ready for the Hunger Games now, so pumped! Shimmer said as he bounced around, irritating Velour. "Yes! So excited!" he yelled as he high fived Silkie.

Velour rolled his eyes. "Calm down will you Shimmer? We're not in the Hunger Games yet. You'd better not let anyone beat us to the stage." he said menacingly as he narrowed his eyes at Shimmer.

Silkie smiled as the twins continued arguing. The two were lucky to even be alive. They had almost died just after they were born, but despite their survival, their parents were very poor and could not afford to look after them. They had therefore abandoned them at the orphanage.

Following that however, they were picked up by the head trainer at the Careers' academy. Initially, he had considered selling them to a travelling freak show, but then he had the idea of making them careers. In his sick mind he considered them as a 'novelty' that the Capitol would enjoy. He introduced them to the training centre, and they were laughed at initially, and never taken seriously.

However, not even the head trainer expected the development that these twins experienced over the years. Guided by their trainer, Silkie, they vowed not to let their condition hold them back. They developed a unique fighting style that would make their extra bodies a weapon whereas others would consider it a weakness.

The twins owed everything to Silkie, and were incredibly fond of her, due to her caring for them and helping them develop their technique for years.

"I guess you're ready twins." Silkie said with a broad smile. "Although you can brush up on your teamwork sometimes." She said cheekily.

The twins grinned. That kind of comment coming from anyone else would get them fired up, but they took it from Silkie. She was the only one that was permitted to insult them.

"Oh we're ready Silkie!" Shimmer shouted enthusiastically.

"We'll go down in Hunger Games history." Velour said, in a calmer manner. "We'll prove to everyone in Panem that you can do anything if you put your mind to it."

* * *

Bluebell stood in the crowd of 18 year olds at the reapings, positively bouncing with excitement.

_This is my year! _She thought.

She looked around the square again, which looked absolutely beautiful. Brightly coloured lights and decorations adorned every building, and the square was a place of celebration, with rides, games, and music everywhere. District one was one of the districts in closer ties with the Capitol, and they often did well in the Hunger Games, with seven victors so far in total.

Bluebell looked up at the victor's stand. _Soon, I'll be there! _she thought to herself, imagining herself sitting up there already. She had hardly noticed the escort going through her speeches, before dipping her hand into the female bowl.

"The female tribute for this year is Glinda Low!"

"I VOLUNTEER! Bluebell shrieked, as she ran up to the stage, with a lot of the crowd cheering and clapping her. Bluebell was a popular girl, and many people were keen to see her come back victor.

"And now for the boys…" The escort looked confused for a second. "There appears to be two names on this sheet of paper… erm… Velour and Shimmer Gemine?"

"YES!" two voices screamed with joy, as Velour and Shimmer charged up to the stage.

The escort couldn't help but stare at the twins for a second, before regaining her composure and turning to the microphone again with a big smile.

"Looks like we have two fantastic tributes this year everybody! Happy Hunger Games District 1!"


	14. Train Rides Part 1

**_District 1_**

Once they were on the train, Bluebell greeted the twins with a smile, as they already knew each other from the training centre. She thought they seemed alright, but had always thought they had been rather uninterested in making friends.

"Hey Velour and Shimmer!" Bluebell said. "Are you guys excited?"

Velour muttered a hello in response, but Shimmer start talking rapidly.

"Oh hi Bluebell! You're the girl who's engaged to Blaise aren't you? So excited for the Hunger Games, I'm going to kill so many tributes!"

Velour snorted with laughter at this, and Shimmer turned his head to him, annoyed.

"What is the matter with you Velour? God I hate how you're always…"

"…laughing at you when you talk about killing tributes? Velour smirked as he finished Shimmer's sentence. He loved how much Shimmer got irritated from Velour doing this.

"Oh piss off! I've had enough of you you arrogant dick!" Shimmer replied.

"I don't know why you're talking about how many tributes you're gonna kill anyway, you know I'll kill more!" Velour said with a grin.

"I'm going to kill more!" Shimmer shouted.

"You'd better watch yourself." Velour said, getting angry.

Bluebell had been watching this all with amusement, not wanting to interfere initially, but decided now it was time to intervene.

"It won't matter how many tributes you kill anyway boys, you're not going to be victor." Bluebell said with a cheeky smile. "Because you know that I will be."

Velour only narrowed his eyes at her, but Shimmer replied. "As if you're going to win! We're going to be carrying four swords for crying out loud!"

Bluebell laughed. "Boys… I don't mean this to sound rude… but don't you think your… condition… might hold you back a bit?"

Both Velour and Shimmer glared at her menacingly. "How dare you suggest such a thing!" Shimmer shouted. "We've taken what other people would call a weakness and turned into a strength! We worked harder in one week at that training centre that you did during your whole time there!"

The comment about her training had ignited flames in Bluebell's eyes. "Don't you DARE question my skills! Just you wait till the arena!"

Shimmer laughed an evil laugh, as he stroked an imaginary cat. He continued this evil laugh for a while, as Bluebell stared at him.

"What are you doing?" Bluebell said in shock.

Shimmer smiled at her rather sadistically, as the twins turned to head to their room. Bluebell just stood there, rather taken aback. As the twins almost reached their room, they both turned their heads and spoke in unison.

"We look forward to killing you."

_**District 2**_

"Hey sexy!"

Andromeda turned in disgust as Runyon approached her on the train. She hated the maniacal, bloodthirsty boy who she knew from the training centre, and what he had done to poor Huck had only sent her opinion of him spiralling down further.

"Don't call me sexy you prick. Your behaviour was disgusting!" Andromeda said to him angrily.

Runyon smiled. "You mean Huck? Whatever… It's the Hunger Games. Scared of a little blood are we?"

Andromeda turned her head away and ignored him, instead keeping herself occupied with watching District 2 for a final time, as the train sped away from it towards the Capitol.

"Listen darling… everyone knows what I'm about now. The other tributes will be scared stiff! They now know for sure that they're all going to die…"

Andromeda turned her head back to him. "Me too yeah?"

Runyon smiled. "Oh yes, you're going to die Andromeda, at my hands too! But at least I'll enjoy your company until that time comes!" he said menacingly.

"Believe me, I have no intention of dying." She replied.

Runyon laughed. "Oh that's funny! I doubt you could even kill anyone!"

"I guess we'll just see what happens in the arena." Andromeda simply said.

"What's your deal anyway? You don't really want to be here do you? You would never have volunteered if your sister hadn't been reaped!"

"DON'T talk about my sister you bastard!" Andromeda screamed, as she ran into her room, brushing past the bewildered escort who had just walked in their carriage.

"What happened?" she asked.

Runyon simply smirked. "Don't worry. Put on the reaping recaps."

"I was about to do so." she replied, tutting as she walked over to put the recaps on.

_The districts and their manners! _she thought.

Runyon leant forward in excitement to see the other tributes. He was laughing all the way through.

"What is so funny?" The escort finally snapped as the reapings ended.

"What's so funny?" Runyon replied, still laughing. "Have you seen the tributes this year? Conjoined twins, a blind girl? All the other careers look so weak as well! This is a joke!"

The escort could feel herself getting more and more annoyed with this boy by the minute. She had escorted many arrogant District 2 tributes, but never one quite like this. "Did you not see the volunteer prisoner from District 6? He looks pretty tough."

Runyon suddenly stopped laughing, and became as serious as one could be. "Of course I saw him. I'll snap his neck myself."

The escort didn't doubt his word for a second.

Andromeda lay on her bed in her room, in a down mood. She couldn't stop thinking about Thea, and the rest of her family. She already missed them so much.

_I don't even want to be here! _she thought angrily. _I don't want to kill…_

There were so many girls willing to fight for District 2. Andromeda sometimes wished she didn't belong to such an honourable family.

She sat up on her bed, trying to pull herself together. She hated this, but she would have to play the Capitol's game. But Andromeda promised herself one thing.

She wouldn't be killing anyone.

_See how the Capitol likes a victor with no kills. _She thought to herself happily.

_**District 3**_

For the first few minutes of the train journey, Orren and Bree didn't say a word to each other, both of them buried in their own thoughts. Orren was thinking about his Father, now on his own in the bar, and Jessa, who he wondered if he was ever going to see again. Bree, meanwhile, was terrified. She thought about her mum, and how much she was going to miss her. Her friends.

_I never even went to one of Joleen's parties. I'm such a bad friend. _Bree thought, and this set her off. She cried into her grey dress, unable to stop herself.

Orren got up and walked over to her, putting his arm around her. "Hey… It's ok. Everything will be alright."

Bree sniffed. "No it won't be! We're both going to die!"

Orren grimaced for a second, taking his district token out of his pocket. An old playing card, the Jack of Diamonds to be specific. Looking at it felt comforting to Orren, reminding him of the bar.

Bree looked at the card curiously. "You a fan of gambling?"

"I am. But keep it on the down low yeah. I don't think the Capitol would be too happy." he said with a grin.

He then got up off his seat. "Anyway. Enough negative talk Bree. Let's try and figure out a plan. Think about your strengths."

Bree was happy to have something to take her mind off home. "Well, I would say I'm smart, I read a lot of books. I also know how to make electric traps." she said shyly.

Orren raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean?" he asked curiously.

"Well…" Bree replied. "I set up a button-powered electric net in my garden today, and I killed a squirrel. I know it sounds bad, but…"

Bree was cut off by Orren laughing. "Wow! Maybe I underestimated you Bree! That's amazing!"

Bree was taken aback, but then asked the same question herself. "So what are your strengths then?"

Orren smiled. "Well… I don't like to boast about it, but I'm an excellent knife thrower!"

"Really?" Bree said. "At least you'll be able to use an actual weapon in the arena!"

Orren considered his thoughts for a few seconds. "Well Bree… seeing as we both have our strengths… how about we form an alliance?"

Bree perked up considerably. "Really?" she said with delight. She had never thought someone would consider her as an ally. "I would love to."

Orren smiled broadly. "Great!" he said, just as their mentors walked in. District 3's only victors, Karleen Redd and Aron Goddard.

"Hey guys!" Karleen greeted them. "Would you like to see the recaps of the reapings?"

"Definitely." Orren replied, as he slouched on the sofa in front of the television.

Bree's newly found happiness was about to disappear.

She watched a fierce boy from District 2 called Tiger Eyes, a prisoner called Bryce, a terrifying looking girl from District 7 called Azalea, and the many other tough tributes, all getting reaped into the same games as her.

Bree held her heads in her hands. What good were electric traps against brutes who would kill you without a second glance?


	15. Train Rides Part 2

**_District 4_**

As they got on the train, Alissa observed Salton as he walked into the carriage and sat down on one of the exquisite red leather sofas.

_He's hot. _Alissa thought to herself as she looked at his muscular body and dark green eyes. She also noticed a scar on his arm. She would have to ask about that later.

Salton looked at her. "Are you gonna sit down?" he asked.

Alissa sat down next to him. "Can't wait for the Hunger Games!" she said excitedly. "I really think they're an amazing thing… Living in the Victor's Village would be incredible don't you think?"

"It'd be pretty good yeah." Salton replied.

"Only one of us can win though! It'd be so great to bring another victory to District 4… then we'd be catching up to District 1 in numbers of victors!"

Salton simply grunted at this.

Alissa was getting frustrated by the lack of conversation, and changed tact. "So… I saw that impressive looking scar on your arm. How'd you get that?"

Salton's face darkened considerably. "I don't think that's really any of your business."

This didn't deter Alissa. "Oh c'mon Salton! We're District partners now, we should be sharing everything! And I really think…"

Salton got up. "I already told you! It's none of your business!" he shouted.

Alissa backed down. "I'm sorry Salton… I'm far too nosy sometimes."

His face softened. "It's fine, don't worry."

There was no chance for further conversation as their mentors walked in. Everette Irvine and Jonah Stepp. Both previous victors, both won their respective games in true career style.

"Hi Alissa. Hi Salton." Jonah greeted them.

"Let's sit down and discuss tactics while we eat." Everette said.

Alissa and Salton sat down and ate rather eagerly, Salton especially. There had never been food like this at the community home… sausages in eight different flavours, cakes with five different kinds of icing on top… it was heaven.

As the two continued eating, Jonah began to talk. "So, Alissa and Salton, I presume you're both planning to join the career alliance?"

"Of course." Alissa replied instantly. Salton's response was more delayed, but he also muttered in agreement.

Jonah noticed this. "You may have your doubts about the career pack Salton, but believe me, I doubt you could win the games without them."

Everette nodded in agreement. "Jonah and myself both employed the same strategy. Hunt the other tributes in a group until there was roughly seven or eight of us left, then be the first to strike against the careers."

"And here we are sitting as victors. Very much alive I might add." Jonah said.

"Don't worry, I plan on joining the careers." Salton said.

"Me too, as you presumed." Alissa said, in awe of these two amazing victors from her own district.

Everette smiled. "Good. Now what about your weapons? I assume you're both handy with a trident."

Salton shook his head, but Alissa started talking excitedly. "Yes, I've been fishing with my Father for years, and he taught me everything there is to know about tridents!"

"Excellent. What about you Salton?" Jonah asked.

"I've never really used a trident, apart from at the training centre sometimes." Salton muttered. "Didn't really get a chance to at the community home… I'm better with a bow and arrow."

"That's ok." Jonah said. "I'm sure the gamemakers will place the weapon you want in the arena for you as long as you get a high score."

"Shall we watch the recaps of the reapings now?" Everette asked.

"Yes." Jonah replied, striding over to the television to turn it on. They all sat down, especially keen to see the other careers they would be forming an alliance with.

They saw Velour and Shimmer cry with joy as they were chosen, and were surprised, having never seen conjoined twins in their life, let alone seen them enter the Hunger Games.

However, Jonah said "Don't underestimate them. There must be a reason they're so happy to be reaped."

Alissa and Salton continued watching, seeing the typical pretty girl from District 1, the usual fierce looking District 2 male, and the female District 2 tribute called Andromeda. They didn't think much of the other districts, apart from a couple of tough looking older male tributes.

As the reapings finished, Salton commented "The other careers aren't as bad as I thought they'd be."

Alissa wasn't listening, already wrapped up in thoughts of victory.

**_District 5_**

On the District 5 train, Mimi was upset. She couldn't stop thinking about her brother Tom, who was now all on his own, and her best friend Krystal, who she had barely had time to say goodbye to in the Justice Building. She thought about hunting, and the market, and every other little detail in District 5 that she had just waved goodbye to forever.

Murray, however, seemed less concerned with their impending deaths. Mimi noted with annoyance that he was standing over at the food table, sampling the Capitol's latest muffins, looking as chilled as if he were just eating at home.

Murray noticed her looking at him. "Hey beautiful. You should try some of these muffins, they're delicious!"

Mimi felt another pang of annoyance. "Please don't flirt with me. I know you're just trying to tease me rich boy."

Murray smirked as he approached her. "Oh I may be rich, but believe me…. I like a girl who's a bit rough round the edges."

Mimi observed him cautiously. She couldn't deny that he was a very attractive boy, with his golden hair and blue-grey eyes. But something didn't feel quite right about him.

Murray sat down next to her on one of the sofas. "Obviously I'm not happy to be here, but it's good to have a pretty girl to travel with."

Mimi couldn't help but blush as she found herself taken aback by his cockiness. But then, Murray went too far.

"How about a kiss?" he said with a cheeky smile.

Mimi smacked him across the face as he leant in, furious. Murray leaped off the sofa in surprise, his cheek stinging, although the humiliation was worse. He was not used to being rejected by girls.

"I can't believe you!" Mimi shouted at him. "What makes you think you can go round doing that? I've only just met you!"

Murray turned, muttering a curse word, and stalked off to his room. As he reached it, he sat down on the bed, sadness creeping over him. He wasn't really interested in Mimi, but it helped him to forget about Scarlette. The Justice Building had been awful.

* * *

_(At the justice building)_

_Murray was waiting in the room which he had been assigned to in order to say his goodbyes. He had already said goodbye to his crying family, and most of his friends. There was just one person left to see._

_She walked in at that moment. Scarlette had been summoning up the courage to come and speak to Murray, and had finally decided to do it with five minutes of visiting time remaining. _

_"Hey darling!" Murray greeted her._

_"Hey." Scarlette said. "How are you feeling?"_

_"I'm great. You gonna miss me then?"_

_Scarlette's face turned serious. "Listen Murray… no messing around for once. I have to tell you something before you go off to the Capitol."_

_She took a deep breath. "I'm deeply in love with you Murray Greene. I'm sure you already know this anyway, but I've loved you for years now. I just wanted to tell you."_

_She waited for his response, hoping that he would return the feelings, and tell her how much he loved her back._

_But he didn't. "You're so sweet Scarlette. I'm going to miss you." he said hastily._

_There was a pause, and Scarlette was on the brink of tears. "Don't you have anything else to say to me?"_

_But at that moment the peacekeepers entered and said that time was up. Murray didn't say anything else._

_"I guess that's it then. Goodbye Murray." Scarlette said._

_And with one final look at him, she left the room._

* * *

Murray couldn't believe he hadn't said anything. He had just panicked.

_And that's it now…. I'm never going to be able to tell her. _Murray thought to herself.

He decided to go and make amends with Mimi. He walked back into the carriage, where Mimi was sadly picking at some garlic and herb flavoured chicken, and sat down opposite her at the table.

"I'm sorry Mimi. My feelings are all mixed up at the moment… I didn't mean to come on so strongly." Murray said to her.

Mimi had calmed down by now. "It's ok Murray… I understand. Let's just move on."

He smiled at her response, and then an idea popped into his head. "Hey… how about we be allies? Maybe we can help each other out… I'm good with a sword."

Mimi looked up in surprise. "Where did you learn that?"

"Fencing… we did it at my special skills school a few times." Murray replied.

Mimi burst out laughing. "Of course you did rich boy! Well you'll be happy to know that I'm quite handy with a bow and arrow."

Murray was annoyed by this new nickname but said "Fantastic! Then it's settled."

The two District 5 tributes smiled at each other with their new found optimism.

_**District 6**_

As they watched the recaps of the reapings, Medusa and Bryce weren't doing much talking. Both were quite happy to keep themselves to themselves for now. However, when their own reapings came on the television, Bryce noticed that Medusa was sniggering.

"What's so funny?" he demanded.

Medusa stopped laughing to look at him. "I just find it amusing how the Capitol chooses to censor certain parts of the reapings."

Bryce realised what she meant. "You're talking about the fireworks aren't you?" he asked. Then he noticed the gleam in Medusa's eyes as she nodded.

It dawned on Bryce. "You set off the fireworks didn't you?"

"Did I say that?" Medusa replied, her emotionless face not giving away a thing. "I was just giving my opinion on the Capitol's censorship."

Bryce didn't reply, his short temper already rising from the girl's cheekiness.

"So Bryce Lichen… prisoner eh? I've heard about you. You killed your Brother and Father didn't you?" Medusa asked, knowing full well what she was doing.

Bryce stood up, his face full of anger. "Shut up! Don't you start talking about things that you know nothing about!"

"Oh I know Bryce. I know what you did. How could you kill your brother like that? You make me sick!"

Bryce lost it then. "Who even are you?! Stupid little kid! I'LL KILL YOU!" He screamed as he swung his fist at Medusa.

She had been expecting this though, and ducked as Bryce clumsily swung, before punching him in the gut. Bryce doubled over in pain, moaning.

Medusa backed off down the carriage, as Bryce got up and barrelled towards her at full speed. Medusa didn't react in time, and was knocked to the ground, just as their escort walked in.

His eyes widened. "What in the name of President Neal is going on here? Stop it you hooligans, right now!"

But neither of them listened, both getting ready to attack again. The escort ran out the carriage to seek help.

Medusa picked up a glass from the table, and smashed it over Bryce's head. Bryce roared in pain as blood began seeping out of his head, before kicking out at Medusa, sending her flying back into the wall of the carriage.

The peacekeepers came running in before the fight could get any uglier. As one of them tried to restrain Bryce, who had completely lost it at this point and was flailing his arms and legs around, he couldn't help but think of one thing.

He felt sorry for the other tributes this year.


	16. Train Rides Part 3

**Hi guys! Hope you're all enjoying the story. Just wanted to remind everyone that I have a poll up to vote for your favourite characters so far. So if anyone would like to vote it's on my profile.**

**I'd also like to say thank you for all the reviews so far, it really makes me happy and makes writing the story worthwhile.**

**Would still love to hear from more people who read this story though... so I'd really appreciate it if anyone new were to leave me reviews :)**

**Anyway let's get on with more train rides!**

**Thanks.**

* * *

_**District 7**_

"Do you really think you have a chance?"

Nash looked around to see Azalea standing next to him. For the start of the journey, Nash had been quite content that she had decided to leave him alone. But now it appeared she wanted to talk, and judging by the fierce look in her eyes, Azalea wasn't here for a friendly chat.

"What do you mean?" Nash replied.

Azalea stared at him. "You heard me. Do you really think you have a chance? You don't look like victor material."

"And you think you do, I suppose?" Nash said.

Azalea flared up at this sarcastic response. "Of course I do! I've received training from the best of the best. Gerald Tigris, my Father and previous victor."

"Oh no." Nash said quietly. "You're going to join the careers aren't you?"

"That's the plan." Azalea replied, grinning. "No-one's going to stand in my way. I will be victor, and my Father and myself will be the first ever Father-Daughter victors! We'll go down in Hunger Games history!"

Nash was stunned by this love for the games. "I don't understand. You seem to enjoy the Hunger Games?"

"Of course I do!" Azalea said with complete conviction. "Why wouldn't someone love the Hunger Games?"

Nash couldn't find an answer, trying to assess the situation before responding. Azalea began pacing around the room excitedly, her voice becoming more and more enthusiastic by the second.

"The Hunger Games is a chance to escape the poverty, the hunger, the despair of District 7. I'll be rich, and be loved, and become famous. Who wouldn't want that?"

"Are you blind? Can't you see that it's just a form of entertainment for the Capitol?" Nash said in an exasperated voice, as he stared at the girl, still not believing that anyone could hold this opinion. "What about all the children who die every year? Doesn't that matter to you?"

Azalea laughed at this openly. "The Hunger Games isn't going to stop Nash. We can't stop the Capitol. The first rebellion proved that. We should relish the opportunity that we're given to get out of the hell hole that we live in."

"So you're going to become a kid killer are you? Is that it? Nash said, his voice rising, which was quite unlike him.

"Yes. I am." Azalea replied in a calm manner. "It's obvious that you're not going to."

Nash didn't respond, and Azalea smiled, as she said "That's why I'm going to come home alive and you're not."

Their mentors walked in then, and started talking to them about strategies for the arena, and about their own experiences in the games.

Nash wasn't listening though, Azalea's words still spinning round in his head. Despite his own moral values and beliefs, Nash knew that Azalea was right about one thing.

No-one had ever won the Hunger Games without making a kill.

_**District 8**_

Audrey looked out at the window, watching everything flashing by as the train sped towards the Capitol. She was feeling rather lonely. Her and Teddy hadn't spoken a word to each other yet, both of them too shy to approach each other.

Audrey got up, deciding to overcome her shyness in meeting new people and talk to Teddy. They were district partners after all. It would pay to get on well.

As she walked over to Teddy, the train shook, nearly causing her to fall over. The shaking caused a suitcase to fall off one of the top storage racks, landing directly on Audrey's foot.

Teddy jumped in surprise as the case smashed onto the ground, and was surprised when he realised that Audrey had not reacted to the impact.

"A-Are you ok?" He asked nervously, approaching her.

"I'm fine." Audrey replied. "Thanks. Teddy right?"

"Y-Yeah. You're A-Audrey? H-How did that not hurt?" he asked, still curious.

Audrey sighed. At least it was a good icebreaker. "I have congenital insensitivity to pain. It basically means…"

"I k-know what it m-means." Teddy said. "It's w-when a person c-can't feel pain."

"Oh ok then brainbox!" Audrey said, annoyed that he had interrupted her.

"I'm s-sorry! I didn't m-mean to come across as r-rude!" Teddy said hastily, backing away slightly.

Audrey felt sorry for the scared looking boy. "Don't worry about it, I was only joking" she said, smiling at Teddy. "I'm surprised you know what it means to be honest. Most people have never even heard of it, and think it's really weird."

Teddy felt reassured. "It's not w-weird." he said. "It's p-pretty cool to b-be honest."

Audrey found herself starting to like this boy. "Thank you. So how about an interesting fact about yourself now?"

Teddy looked terrified again. "I d-don't know to b-be honest… urm… I h-have a photogenic m-memory."

Audrey was impressed. "Wow, that's incredible!"

"T-thanks. It w-was handy f-for helping my sister with her s-shop." Teddy replied, before suddenly breaking down into tears.

Audrey was startled, and hugged him tentatively. "Hey! What's wrong?" she asked.

Teddy sniffed. "I'm j-just so s-sad that I'm n-never gonna see m-my sister again."

This comment made Audrey break off into her own thoughts, of her loving Mother and Father. She thought of her Father smiling, strumming away at his old bass guitar that had been in the family for centuries. Audrey loved watching him play.

She also thought of her sisters, Juliet and Idina. Idina had screamed at her in the Justice Building for not allowing her to volunteer, Juliet trying to calm her down. Eventually Idina had left without a proper goodbye, too distraught for the circumstances.

Audrey patted Teddy on the shoulder. "Hey, not gonna do any good having all this negativity. How about we forget about the Hunger Games for now and go check out that spread of food that the Capitol has laid on for us?"

Teddy forced a slight smile. The prospect of delicious food did sound appealing. And maybe it would take his mind off the dreaded games.

"Ok. Let's g-go." he said, smiling more broadly now.

Their escort entered the carriage. "Hi tributes!" she said brightly. "Your mentor wanted to know whether you wanted to watch the recaps of the reapings now?"

Audrey looked at Teddy, and they nodded in agreement. "No thanks." Audrey replied. "We'd rather go check out the food and chat."

The escort was taken aback slightly. "Well I do think this is highly unorthodox…" she began, but the two had already walked off to the food table and sat down.

The escort decided to leave them to it, and walked out of the carriage again.

Audrey and Teddy laughed and joked as they ate, enjoying the last few hours they had before they reached the dreaded Capitol.

_**District 9**_

Paddy was sitting at the table where the glorious spread was. He had never seen so much food in his whole life. Braised pork loin, roasted duck, thirty different types of cheese, trifle. The boy who had been malnourished his whole life was in absolute paradise as he wolfed it all down.

He looked over at Fenella, who was sitting at the other end of the carriage. She hadn't said a word since they had been reaped.

"Hey Fenella!" Paddy called over to her. "Why don't you come try the food?"

Fenella did not even look up. She was not interested in being friendly to her district partner. She was wrapped up in her own thoughts of worry. Her twelve year old sister, Skye, all on her own.

_How will she get food? What if someone kidnaps her? _Fenella thought, as she ran through all the different scenarios in her head, beginning to become distressed in her own head.

"I promise, you've never tasted anything like it!" Paddy shouted, trying again.

This time, Fenella looked up and glared at him. That was enough of a signal to Paddy for him to give up, so he shrugged his shoulders and went back to eating.

He then had an idea. Paddy picked up a bag that was lying on one of the chairs, and began filling it with lots of cakes and other puddings.

_I'll have a nice little feast for myself later. _he thought to himself happily as he made his way out the carriage towards his room.

As he exited the carriage, the escort entered, bumping into him and knocking the bag out of his hands, the food spilling everywhere.

The escort stared at the mess, before turning on Paddy. "Tributes aren't supposed to take food to their rooms without permission!" she said sternly, wagging her finger in his face.

Paddy felt irritated by this stupid Capitol woman. "Whatever." he replied before mooching off to sprawl over one of the sofas.

The escort huffed, and took out her folder. "Ah yes. Paddy Ackerman. It makes sense now."

Paddy looked up in annoyance. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You stealing the cakes. It says that they found a conviction of theft when they did a background check on you."

"I was falsely convicted. It was a set-up!" Paddy replied fiercely.

The escort laughed. "All I'll say my boy, is to not get up to your tricks in the Capitol. I don't think you'd like to get on the wrong side of President Neal and the gamemakers…"

Paddy looked like he was going to get angry for a second, before deciding to go for a new tact. "I know you're trying to scare me you silly woman. It hasn't worked." he said with a cheeky smile as he turned his head towards the television.

The escort was now irritated, and bustled over to Fenella. "Fenella Reed? I just have to ask you a couple of questions…"

"I'm not talking to you." Fenella said bluntly, before shoving past the escort and walking out of the carriage.

As the escort moaned about District 9 and their manners, Paddy watched Fenella storm out the room in curiosity.

Things were certainly going to be interesting with her as his district partner.


	17. Train Rides Part 4

_**District 10**_

Despite the circumstances, Karina was feeling rather happy. Morris had helped her onto the train, and they had sat down and talked about their lives in District 10, Morris trying to take Karina's mind off the games. She loved the fact that Morris had not asked a single question about her blindness, or her leg. So many people in District 10 were a bit too over-caring at times.

"…so that's when the cows began stampeding, it was hilarious!" Morris laughed as he told another story of his life back on the farm.

Karina winced. Morris' ending to his story had brought back bad memories of her own story of cows stampeding, when she had lost her leg.

Morris noticed this. "Are you alright Karina? Did you not like my story?"

"I'm fine." she replied, trying to force a smile. "It's just… that's how I lost my leg. Because of a cow stampeding."

Morris looked horrified, and gave her a hug. "I'm so sorry Karina." he said.

Karina began to cry softly as Morris hugged her. "I think you were so brave… volunteering for your friend." she said.

"Thank you." he replied.

Morris was sad as he thought of Jerold. He thought of his family, his Mother who had cried the whole time they had been in the Justice Building. He suddenly felt selfish. Sure, he had saved his friend Jerold, but what about his Mother and Father? His loving parents who cared so much for him. He had just abandoned them, without consideration for how they would feel.

_Well I'm going to come home. _Morris thought with new found determination.

"Morris…" Karina said. "I hate to ask, but will you look after me in the arena? Maybe we can help each other… I'm sorry, I'm just so scared."

Morris hesitated. He knew that being allies with Karina would lower his chances of winning. But then he looked at her sad face, and he knew he couldn't say no to this poor little girl.

"Of course I'll help you. Maybe one of us will get home!" he said with forced enthusiasm.

Karina smiled. She was aware that her and Morris both knew that she wouldn't be coming back to District 10, but she liked that he was trying to reassure her.

"Thank you so much." she whispered to Morris.

Their escort came in through the carriage door before he could have a chance to reply.

"Oh hello Morris!" the escort greeted him brightly as she approached him. She knew who he was already due to his position as Capitol food taster. "I'm so sorry you got reaped… it's so sad to see someone with such great taste in Capitol food going into the games." She said, completely ignoring the fact that a blind twelve year old with one leg had also been reaped.

"Come, you must try the new chicken pie." the escort continued as she gestured for Morris to follow her.

Morris led Karina over to the food table, and she couldn't help but think how lucky she was to have a District partner like Morris.

_**District 11**_

District 11's only victor, a man named Miles Fenton, entered the carriage to find the two tributes sitting apart from each other, completely silent.

He walked over to Vern, who was looking out of a window, lost in his own world.

"Vern right?" Miles asked as he sat down next to him.

Vern jumped as Miles spoke to him. "Yeah… that's me." He replied.

"I'm your mentor, Miles Fenton. I'll be helping you with strategies for the arena and any other questions or concerns you may have about the games."

Vern looked down at the ground. "Ok thanks." he replied.

"So Vern, are there any weapons that you think you'd be able to use in the Hunger Games?"

Vern didn't look at Miles. "No… not really. I'm not a violent person."

Miles tried to stay positive. "That's ok. What about any other skills that you could employ for the Hunger Games?"

Vern fiddled with his hands, shaking from nerves. "I… I don't know… I guess I could… no."

Miles sighed. "Look Vern, you've got to work with me. You're never going to win the Hunger Games with this kind of attitude! You're gonna need to toughen up!"

Vern looked at Miles, offended. "Why are you questioning me? I've just been sent to my death, and you're telling me I need to get tougher. Just leave me alone."

As he looked out the window again, Miles realised he was going to get nothing more out of him, and decided to try talking to Lily instead.

"Hello Lily." Miles said as he approached her.

Lily looked up and glared at him as Miles sat down next to her. "Look Lily, this whole rebellion act isn't going to go down well in the Capitol."

"I don't care what they think. I'm not playing their game." she replied angrily.

"You're going to have to if you want to survive." Miles said, carefully choosing his words. "Don't you want to come back to District 11?"

"Of course I do." Lily replied fiercely. "I have a sister aged twelve and a brother aged eight who are all on their own now."

"Exactly." Miles said. "So let's talk about how you're going to win the games Lily. Let's talk tactics and strategies."

Lily looked at him in anger. "I'm not going to discuss tactics with you. I've heard about your games. You killed your own district partner, you betrayed her. You can piss off you traitor. As far as I'm concerned you're just another pawn of the Capitol."

Miles was completely taken aback. As he got up and walked over to put on the recaps, he remembered how he had killed his own district partner. Poor Lucila. At the time he had justified it with the reasoning that he had to kill her to win the Hunger Games, to stay alive.

But now he wished he had died. He almost hoped that neither Vern nor Lily would become victor, so they wouldn't have to go through the same nightmare that he had been through.

_**District 12**_

Once they were on the train, Natasha finally had the chance to talk to Alex about her thoughts of the reapings. Despite the fact that they were adopted twins, the peacekeepers had ordered them to be in separate rooms in the Justice Building, as it was Hunger Games law.

"Listen Alex." Natasha said quickly as they sat down on one of the sofas. "I think our reaping was rigged."

Alex's expression didn't change much, but Natasha could tell he was surprised. "What do you mean?" He replied. "How could it have been rigged?"

"I've heard that the Capitol do it sometimes. Think about it…what are the odds of us both being reaped?"

Realisation was slowly dawning on Alex. "But why would the Capitol do that to us?"

"Are you stupid Alex? We're criminals! Part of a gang! We rob people! Work it out!" she shouted.

Alex got up, getting angrier now. "Those bastards! I'm going to show them!"

"And what are you going to do tough guy? Kill President Neal?" Natasha said as she snorted with laughter.

"Don't wind me up! Agghhh!" Alex screamed as he punched the wall of the carriage, just as their mentor, Neoma Foss, walked in, jumping in shock.

"What are you doing?" she shouted as she approached the tributes rapidly. "Do you want to be marked as bloodbath before you even get to the Capitol?"

She stopped as she remembered who the two were. "Oh yes. Alex and Natasha Trent. The two scumbag criminals from the seam. Did you know that you robbed my nephew once?"

"What did you just call us?" Alex said menacingly as he approached Neoma.

"Leave it Alex! What are you doing?" Natasha said fiercely as she got up and put a hand on his shoulder.

Alex listened to her, and calmed down, sitting down again on the sofa.

"Right! Now that we've all had the pleasure of meeting each other, why don't we watch the recaps?" Neoma said as she turned the television on.

Natasha watched the recaps of the reapings with interest, wanting to get an idea on who they would be up against as soon as possible. Alex appear uninterested, but Natasha knew that he would be watching out of the corner of his eye.

District 1 was a big shock for Natasha as she saw the conjoined twins. It was something that she had never seen before. The rest of the careers didn't seem like anything special, although the so-called 'Tiger Eyes' looked pretty mental.

Natasha didn't notice anything particularly memorable from District 5 apart from a good looking boy named Murray, but her interest perked up again upon seeing a prisoner volunteer in District 6.

_Never seen that before. _She mused to herself as she watched another fierce looking girl named Azalea appear on stage. Rather unthreatening tributes appeared next with the other half of District 7, then Districts 8 and 9.

Natasha felt awful for the poor girl named Karina from District 10, but then the reapings became even more interesting in District 11 as she watched the girl named Lily refuse to go up to the stage in an act of civil disobedience.

_She might make a good Ally. _Natasha considered as the reapings ended with their own.

Natasha then became lost in her own thoughts, considering all the different tributes as the train sped towards the Capitol.

* * *

**So that's it, train rides are all finished now. Next chapter is the chariot ride, which should be uploaded either tomorrow or Sunday! Thanks for reading and reviewing :)**


	18. The Chariot Ride

**Hi everyone! Just wanted to show you all the results of the poll for favourite tribute so far:**

_**1) Natasha Trent (D12) 5 Votes**_

_**2) Medusa Krinvox (D6) 4 Votes**_

_**3) Orren Noults (D3) and Alex Trent (D12) 3 Votes each.**_

_**4) Velour/Shimmer Gemine (D1), Salton Calder (D4), Mimi Laven (D5), Bryce Lichen (D6), and Azalea Tigris (D7) 2 Votes each.**_

_**5) Andromeda Ryan (D2), Bree Lloyd (D3), Alissa Crestwood (D4), Nash Lockhart (D7), Fenella Reed (D9), Paddy Ackerman (D9), Morris Wayward Jr (D10), and Vern Tillier (D11) 1 Vote each.**_

**The poll is still open, so feel free to vote if you haven't yet!**

**Hope you enjoy the chapter guys, and thanks for reading and reviewing!**

* * *

Velour and Shimmer stood next to their chariot, feeling annoyed with their stylists. They had initially been very confused about what kind of outfit they were going to dress the twins in, but had got more and more excited by the possibilities for creativity.

The end result was that the twins were wearing nothing more than a toga style piece of clothing which was purple and shining with crystals, draped over each of their bodies. The stylists had decorated the rest of their bare skin with the same purple crystals, giving their bodies a shining effect.

Bluebell came walking over to the chariot, with the same purple crystals sparkling all over her body and the small purple dress that the stylists had chosen for her to wear. Velour and Shimmer noted with annoyance that she pulled it off much better than they did.

"Hey twins!" Bluebell greeted them. Despite their disagreement on the train, the two tributes had agreed to put the altercation behind them, as she had apologised to them. Bluebell was still irritated that the twins had not apologised to her also, but she had decided to back down. She knew that they had to work together for now in order to form the career alliance.

"Hey Bluebell!" Shimmer said, smiling, while Velour simply nodded in response.

"I was thinking we should go meet the other careers?" Bluebell said. "Would be good to form the alliance and scope out the other tributes as soon as possible."

"Oh I agree! See who we're gonna kill." Shimmer said enthusiastically, an evil glint in his and Velour's eyes.

_God those two freak me out. _Bluebell thought to herself. "Let's go then!"

As they began walking towards the District 2 chariot, they could see the tributes having a disagreement. Runyon was trying to convince Andromeda to come check out the other tributes, but it was clear she was not happy with this.

"We'll look less keen if we let them come to us!" Andromeda hissed at Runyon. She was feeling confident wearing a gorgeous, long flowing white dress in the style of the ancient greek goddesses, with sandals and her dark red hair tied up in a bun at the back of her head. The stylists had topped her look with a laurel.

"Oh! Looks like you were right for once darling!" Runyon said with a grin as he spotted District 1 approaching. He was wearing a similar outfit to Andromeda, except he was wearing a white tunic that reached his knees. "Looks like the freak show has arrived." He added as he pointed at Velour and Shimmer.

"Don't start with your bullying Runyon! We want to try and keep everyone on our side for now!" Andromeda said to him angrily.

"Calm yourself. I know what I'm doing." He replied as District 1 reached their chariot.

"Hi!" Bluebell said with a big smile. "You must be Runyon and Andromeda?"

Runyon gave her a smile. "Yes beautiful. I'm Runyon, although most people call me Tiger Eyes."

"Tiger Eyes?" Velour said as he sniggered. "What kind of name is that?"

"Didn't know they allowed animals in the Hunger Games." Shimmer said, and the two began laughing loudly.

Runyon did not appreciate being mocked. "I didn't know they allowed four legged freaks either." He growled at them.

"Leave our condition out of this!" The twins said in unison.

As the boys argued, Andromeda and Bluebell took the chance to talk to each other.

"Bluebell right?" Andromeda said. As she shook her hand, she noticed the engagement ring on Bluebell's finger. "Wow! You're engaged?"

Bluebell smiled with pride. "Yep. A beautiful twenty year old named Blaise. He's a bit more mature than the men I've met here so far." she said as she rolled her eyes at the twins and Runyon, who were still arguing in the background.

Andromeda laughed. "Nice to meet you anyway."

"You too! I think it's time to go check out District 4." Bluebell replied. "C'mon boys!"

The twins and Runyon followed, still grumbling, as the careers continued down the line of chariots.

Bree was sitting in the District 3 chariot, watching the careers approach. She was wearing a tight black metallic looking playsuit, with bright blue lines all over it which had electricity running through them.

"Don't look at them." Orren said, turning his head away from the careers.

"What?" Bree said.

"Don't look at them. The last thing we want to do is attract their attention. The best thing we can do if we want to survive is to stay under the radar."

This made sense to Bree, so she too looked away from the careers as they walked past the chariots.

The group looked at District 3 briefly as they approached their chariot, but they weren't that interested in them.

"Probably just the typical nerds that are always reaped for District 3." Shimmer laughed as they walked past.

Orren smiled. He was pleased that the careers had dismissed them as being useless. It was far too easy to paint a target on your back for the bloodbath.

As the careers reached the District 4 chariot, they saw Alissa and Salton hanging around near it, talking. The District 4 stylists had really wanted to represent the reputation that District 4 had for fishing this year, as Alissa wore a light blue coloured dress with seashells decorating it, while Salton wore a light blue suit, which had seashells all over it too. Both tributes also carried a trident and a net.

Alissa walked over to the careers confidently, while Salton hung back slightly. "Hello everyone!" She said enthusiastically. "So great to meet my fellow careers!"

Bluebell liked this girl immediately. "Hello. I'm Bluebell." She said with a smile.

"I know your name! I've learnt all the tribute's names already. I'm Alissa, and this is Salton." Alissa said as Salton joined the group.

"Hello." He said gruffly.

"So… District 4." Runyon said, staring them both down. "You sure you guys are up to joining the career pack? District 4 has produced some pretty weak tributes recently. Remember that guy last year who went down in the bloodbath? Embarrassing!" Runyon roared with laughter at the memory.

Alissa glared at him, but it was Salton who spoke first. "We're more than capable. I could ask you the same question."

Runyon glared at him. "Oh so fishing boy thinks he's tough now. I'm from District 2, I don't need to prove myself!"

"Oh quieten down Runyon. I say we let them join!" Bluebell said with a smile. The bigger the career pack is the better right?"

"I agree." Velour and Shimmer said.

"Good! Let's move on then shall we?" Andromeda said, getting bored now. Obviously it would be better to have more careers. She wished Runyon wouldn't be so difficult.

The career pack didn't bother talking to the District 5 tributes as these were normally considered weak, although they did notice how attractive both of them were. Mimi was wearing a silver dress which was crackling with the sounds of electricity, representing the power that the district was famous for. Murray's clothes had the same effect, except he was wearing a smart silver coloured shirt and silver trousers.

Salton was especially able to appreciate them both, due to him being bi-sexual. _Such a shame that I'm going to have to kill such gorgeous tributes. _He thought to himself.

Murray was having similar thoughts himself. "Attractive looking career pack." He said to Mimi. "Might have to go chat to that District 2 girl." He said with a wink.

Mimi rolled her eyes. "I wish you'd stop this Murray. You're not going to do yourself any favours."

"Don't get jealous cos my attention's not on you now…" He paused, grinning to himself. "What about that Tiger Eyes though? I bet he's a cheeky one." He said, laughing.

Mimi did not return the laughter, looking worried. "Please don't make any jokes to him. He'll kill you, did you not watch the reapings?"

Murray did not seem concerned. "Don't worry your little head. I'm not stupid."

As the career pack approached the District 6 chariot, they saw a younger looking girl watching them. She had been dressed rather ridiculously, in a dress covered in pictures of trains which were giving off pitiful amounts of steam.

"Hello." I'd like to join your career pack." Medusa said with an emotionless expression.

Runyon burst out laughing. "Are you serious? A kid from District 6 wants to join the careers now? This is a joke!"

"I have to agree." Velour said coldly.

"Tributes from other districts have been traitors in the career pack so many times!" Shimmer shouted, throwing his hands up in the air dramatically.

However, Alissa looked at Medusa curiously. "Hey kid, how did you get that bruise?" She said, pointing at a lump on the side of Medusa's head.

"I had a fight with my district partner, Bryce." She replied matter of factly, as if it was nothing interesting. "That's why the top of his head is has a bandage over it." She continued as she pointed at Bryce sitting in the chariot.

Bryce was aware that they were looking at him, but he continued to stare straight ahead. He was already in a bad mood due to the ridiculous outfit he had been made to wear, which was similar to Medusa's except he was wearing train driver style dungarees. He didn't want to have any contact whatsoever with the careers. Bryce was prepared to kill, but only to survive. He couldn't stand those monsters who killed for fun.

_Let Medusa join them if she wants. _He thought with annoyance. _But they'll betray her at some point. _

"Wow! You gave that guy his head injury?" Alissa exclaimed in surprise.

"You're in." Bluebell said, smiling broadly.

"Hang on a minute! Who put you in charge?" Runyon said angrily.

"Well I really think…" Bluebell began to reply, but she was cut off by a new voice.

"I think you'll find that I'm going to be in charge here."

The careers all looked round at the new arrival to the group. Azalea Tigris stood 6 foot tall, looking extremely confident in a red dress which was decorated with trees, carrying an axe for a prop.

"Who the hell are you?" Velour and Shimmer said in annoyance.

"I'm Azalea Tigris. Daughter of previous victor, Gerald Tigris."

"Ooohh, I'm the daughter of a victor!" Runyon said, mimicking her voice. "So what?" He said, laughing. "You're still from District 7, no way are you joining the career pack!"

Azalea narrowed her eyes at him. "I've received training from the best. I'm just as skilled as all you careers are, if not better!"

"I've had enough of this!" Runyon shouted as he turned to address the group. "No more tributes from other districts! This pack is going to be embarrassing!"

Salton rolled his eyes. This was what he had been dreading would happen. Too many egos in the careers to make a organised group of fighters. He was starting to wonder whether he had made the right decision.

It was Andromeda who stepped in though. "Look Runyon, if you're that bothered about non-career district tributes, why don't we get them to show their skills in training tomorrow? If they're good enough they can join, it's as simple as that."

"Sounds good to me." Bluebell said.

"Fine! Let these non-careers make fools out of themselves!" Runyon shouted, irritated that he hadn't got his own way.

"I look forward to proving you wrong you prick." Azalea said, glaring at Runyon.

"Medusa?" Alissa asked.

"No problem."

The careers finally got moving again, completely forgetting to even take Nash into account. He had watched the whole argument with interest, observing the way all the careers behaved. As they moved on, he smiled to herself. He believed he had found some weaknesses within the pack.

The group took one look at District 8 before moving on straight away, dismissing them instantly as weak. Their outfits were uninteresting, being the same styled peacekeeper outfits that District 8 was famous for producing. They were also running out of time to check out all the chariots.

"Oh g-god." Teddy said as she shook. "T-Those careers t-terrify me."

"Don't worry." Audrey said, trying to reassure him. "Like I said to you earlier, we'll make sure to stay at the opposite end of the arena to them." She too was terrified of the Careers, and she had taken an instant dislike to Bluebell, who reminded her of the arrogant good looking girls at her school. "Maybe we can even make more allies tomorrow at training to help us." she continued, smiling at Teddy.

The careers passed straight by District 9's empty chariot, as the tributes were running late. The group could hardly remember who they were anyway, apart from Alissa, who excitedly pointed out that they were called Fenella and Paddy.

"Check out fatty up there." Runyon said to Velour and Shimmer as he pointed at Morris, who was sitting in the District 10 chariot, and they burst out laughing as they carried on to District 11.

Morris was not bothered about the comments. He was well aware that both him and Karina looked ridiculous wearing their cow costumes, but he had been bullied in his life enough for insults not to affect him anymore. Besides, he was relieved that they had least not laughed at Karina.

"Was that the careers Morris? Oh god." Karina said, beginning to get herself worked up.

"Don't worry Karina. They're gone." Morris replied.

Lily jumped down from her chariot as the careers approached. She was wearing a parade outfit typical of District 11, farmer's clothes with a straw hat. "Don't you come near my chariot! You traitors aren't welcome here!"

"What did you say you little outlier district scum?" Azalea said fiercely as she stormed over to Lily.

Lily stood her ground. "You heard me! You sick bastards are traitors. Killing district children! You're as bad as Capitolites!"

"Please, leave it Lily!" Vern said feebly from the chariot.

"You stay out of this Vern, if you're not man enough to get involved!" Lily shouted back at him. The two were now civil, but Lily didn't have much respect for the weak boy.

"You're a cheeky bitch!" Azalea screamed at her.

"She's right though."

Everyone looked round to see Natasha and Alex Trent from District 12 standing near the group. They too were wearing unoriginal outfits, with miner's overalls covered in soot and miner's helmets. "You are traitors. And you aren't welcome near our chariots." Natasha said.

"This ain't your territory." Alex growled at the group.

"Territory?!" Shimmer said in a sarcastic voice.

"Looks like we've got a wannabe gangster here." Velour said as he laughed.

"Wannabe? I've sliced people's necks open before and I'll do it to you too you freaks!" Alex shouted at the twins. "What even are you?"

"Do you want to find out? Let's go right now!". Shimmer said, laughing evilly as his and Velour's eyes gleamed with a thirst to kill.

But they were stopped by the announcer. "Tributes, please return to your chariots. The parade will begin in ten minutes…"

"Guess we'd better go." Andromeda said.

"Oh my god the parade! I can't wait! The Capitol are going to see us!" Alissa practically burst with excitement.

"See you in training outliers!" The twins said in sadistic voices as the careers made their way back to the chariots.

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the chariot parade of the 35th Hunger Games!" The voice boomed across the crowds as they screamed for the tributes, who were just starting to come out now.

The Capitolites always loved District 1, and they cheered and screamed loudly for the twins and Bluebell as they sparkled in their bright purple clothes. Both tributes were waving enthusiastically, with Bluebell gaining many fans straight away amongst the men.

District 2 also looked great, both looking god-like in their outfits. The crowds roared in appreciation for the beastly looking Runyon, who was waving happily. Andromeda looked less enthusiastic in her waving, but the crowds still loved her for her beauty.

The crowds cheered less for District 3, but they were still impressed by the outfits with the running electricity. Orren waved with enthusiasm, hoping to get some potential sponsors lined up. Bree also waved, but in a rather shy manner, which didn't go unnoticed.

Next, the capitolites screamed in delight as District 4 appeared. Salton especially was a pleasure to look at, and the crowd also instantly fell in love with Alissa, who was jumping around in the chariot excitedly, blowing kisses and waving till her arms ached.

The excitement continued with District 5, as Murray and Mimi both looked stunning, with their eye-catching outfits making them even more attractive. Many capitolites were beginning to wonder if the line of good looking tributes was ever going to end.

The crowds finally began to die down slightly as District 6 appeared next, with Medusa waving rather unemotionally, almost appearing uninterested in the crowds. Bryce, however, came to life, waving and smiling at everyone. _Maybe there's more to him than meets the eye. _Medusa thought with new found curiosity.

District 7 brought new excitement, as by this point everyone was aware who Azalea was and who her Father was. They chanted her name, and Azalea returned their affections, waving at everyone with a broad smile. Nash was rather overshadowed, although some in the crowd saw potential in the rather big fifteen year old.

District 8 was rather uninteresting for the Capitol, both tributes being written off by many as bloodbath kills. It didn't help that both Audrey and especially Teddy were a bit overwhelmed by the cheering, but they still both managed to wave.

Next was District 9, and the crowd laughed at the ridiculous looking outfits made out of corn that they were wearing. Fenella stared at the crowd angrily, hating everything that was happening, while Paddy managed to wave a bit, his cheeky grin endearing him to some.

The crowd instantly gave a collective 'aww' as District 10 pulled out and they saw Morris with his arm around Karina, comforting her. The capitolites loved it when district partners appeared united, and showed their appreciation by cheering loudly. Morris smiled and waved back to thank them, finding some confidence.

District 11 were not liked. Lily stood with her arms crossed, refusing to acknowledge anything that was going on around her. The Capitol hated tributes who didn't embrace their beloved games, and Vern wasn't that much more impressive, as he was visibly shaking from nerves.

The crowd's interest perked up again as District 12 appeared due to their status as being adopted twins. Natasha waved happily to the crowds, hoping to gain some fans. Alex was also waving, although he appeared much less happy to be doing so. Someone who knew them better would say that he had been coaxed into doing it by Natasha.

The chariots circled into formation in front of the balcony, as President Neal appeared on it.

"Welcome to the official opening of the 35th Hunger Games everybody!" He roared into the microphone with the same sadistic grin that he always had upon his face. The crowds roared right back, screaming for their President. "Congratulations tributes!" He said as he looked down at the chariots. "I hope that each and every one of you will make your districts, and the nation of Panem, proud!

He turned to the crowd again. "Happy Hunger Games everybody! May the odds be ever in your favour!"


	19. Training Part 1

**Hope you enjoy the first day of training guys! Let me know what you think :)**

* * *

As the tributes entered the training room, they were in awe of what was before them. A variety of stations, from plant identification, to traps and camouflage. There was an obstacle course, as well as the main attraction, the weapons that were on display for them to use freely.

The head trainer gave some quick instructions on the different stations available, before the tributes were let loose. The careers headed straight over to the weapons, as did Orren and Bree.

"You're gonna need some weapons skills for the arena Bree. How about I teach you some knife throwing?" Orren asked.

Bree looked nervous. "I'm not sure. I don't think I'd be very good at it."

"Don't worry, it's easy once you get the hang of it!" Orren said with confidence as he strode over to the rack of weapons and picked up the knives. He was relieved that he had not had to cross the careers, who were a few metres away from him.

He returned to Bree, and positioned himself in line with the target. "Watch how I do it." he said to her as he drew the knife back behind his shoulder, and threw it with precision.

_Thunk. _The knife made a resounding sound as it hit the bullseye. Orren had a couple of similar throws, before handing the knives to Bree, who was watching in admiration. She had initially thought that Orren might have been all talk.

"How did you get that good?" She asked in awe.

Orren grinned. "I've hustled many a drunk in my Dad's bar. Your turn now."

Bree approached the target nervously, feeling as though people were watching her. "Is there any point in this? I'm going to be useless."

"Don't say that. Just keep your eye on the target, and make sure you get enough power behind your throw by drawing the knife back behind your shoulder." Orren replied with a reassuring smile.

Bree tried her hardest to concentrate, but she didn't even hit the target with her first throw, and her next two weren't much better.

"See, I told you. I think my skills lie elsewhere." She said to Orren.

Orren chuckled. "How about we go check out the traps station then? Still got plenty of time to practise with the weapons another time."

Bree perked up considerably when Orren said this. "Sounds great! By the way… Orren… don't you think we should try and make some more allies?"

Orren didn't look too keen. "Like who?" He asked.

Bree looked around and her eyes fell on Nash, who was standing near the poison identification station, observing the other tributes. "Well how about him?"

Orren looked over at Nash. He wondered what the boy was doing, staring at everyone, not training in any way. It creeped him out a little bit.

"No, I don't think so. There's something not right about him." Orren replied.

Bree sighed. "At least give him a chance! Let's talk to him!"

"No Bree. I feel like we'll work better with just the two of us. Also I really don't think we should seek anymore allies unless they really look like they could help us. If we make a big alliance we'll draw attention to ourselves. "

"So throwing knives with perfect precision isn't drawing attention?" Bree retorted.

Orren opened his mouth to reply, but she had got him. As he smiled, he said "Ok fine. No more throwing knives. But still no allies for now. Ok?"

Luckily for the two from District 3, the careers had barely noticed them, apart from Salton, who had carefully been watching Orren's knife throwing from a distance. He considered warning the others about it, but decided against it. It might be worth keeping that bit of information to himself for now.

He turned back round to see his fellow careers in their element, trying out everything on display. There was every weapon you could possibly conceive, from knives to axes to maces.

Runyon was swinging one of those maces around the room, feeling extremely content, looking like he couldn't wait another second to bash a tribute's head in. The twins picked up two swords each, and Bluebell realised, as she picked up a sword too, that there was a great potential of being overwhelmed if she ever found herself in a one on one situation in the arena with the twins.

Andromeda, meanwhile, was fiddling with a pair of Kamas, while Salton walked over and picked up the best bow and arrow in the room. As for Alissa, she had gone for the rather typical District 4 choice of a trident.

"Right, let's get down to business!" Runyon shouted.

"Azalea, let's see what you got!" Alissa said excitedly.

Azalea walked over to the display of weapons and picked up the biggest axe she could find. She smiled as she walked over to the area where the practise dummies were, and prepared her stance to fight.

They were no problem with Azalea. The second a new dummy popped up, Azalea had chopped its head off before most of the careers even had time to notice it was there. She then took off and ran the obstacle course at an incredible speed, hardly touching the ground as she moved from one part of the course to the next. It was then that Bluebell called her back over.

"I'm going to assume that was enough for you?" Azalea said cockily, buzzing off the adrenaline that her excellent performance had given her.

"Not gonna lie, that was fantastic!" Bluebell replied. The other careers were nodding in agreement, all apart from Runyon, who was scowling and making no effort to hide it.

"Now you Medusa! Show us your skills darling!" Shimmer shouted as he laughed maniacally.

As Medusa walked over to the weapons rack, she knew that she had to impress. However, Medusa had never received any proper training, she just knew how to handle herself. It was so tempting to just use a knife which she had some experience with, but she knew that that wouldn't impress the careers.

"Hurry up kid!" Runyon shouted.

_Prick. _Medusa thought to herself as she finally found a weapon that she wanted to use. A long and deadly looking katana. Medusa thought it looked incredible. As she walked over to the practise section, she stood in the middle of the room, waiting.

"She's so emotionless." Alissa said. "It's a bit creepy."

"She's gonna be crap." Velour said.

"Yeah!" Shimmer agreed. "She's fourteen! She's never even had training!"

As the dummies came up, Medusa sprung into action, slicing the head off of the nearest one deftly. She then moved at a decent speed, stabbing and hacking into all the dummies she could. It wasn't an outstanding performance, but the thing that really stuck out for the careers watching was the look in her ice green eyes.

"She looks so fierce!" Andromeda exclaimed.

Despite being normally so calm and collected, Medusa's capabilities were coming out in full force as she attacked the dummies, fierceness only seen when she became violent. The anger in her eyes was all to evident to everyone watching, and her performance had attracted the attention of a couple of other tributes.

One of those tributes was Paddy, who hadn't really done anything productive in the training centre yet. He had wandered around the different stations, not really sticking with any one of them for long. His thoughts were with Donnie. He desperately wanted to know what had happened to him, and now he would probably die without ever finding out.

_I really need to make some allies. _He thought to himself as he continued wandering around the room until he saw Fenella, who was over at the shelter making station, working quietly. Paddy decided to try and talk to her again. She was his district partner after all.

"Hey Fenella." He said with his usual cheeky smile upon his face.

Fenella looked up from her work, annoyed at being disturbed. "Oh. It's you. Hi." She said rather bluntly.

Paddy brushed off her unfriendliness. "So you're making shelters? Any chance I could join you?"

"I'd rather you didn't." Fenella replied. "I'm quite happy on my own."

"Oh… I was asking cos I thought if we got to know each other more we could become allies for the arena?

Fenella laughed slightly. "Sorry Paddy but no. I prefer to work alone."

He wasn't about to give up that easily though. "Why not Fenella? C'mon it'd be good! We can help each other out, and it'll be nice to be able to keep each other company in the arena. Why don't you wanna ally with me?"

Fenella looked Paddy straight in the eye. "You really want me to be honest?"

"I guess." Paddy replied as he shrugged.

"You're a thirteen year old boy from District 9 Paddy. You're small, weak and not terribly bright. You may be good at thieving, but that's not going to hold you much stead in the arena."

Fenella paused for a second, as Paddy stared at her, surprised by her comments. She then continued.

"There have only been two District 9 victors in the thirty-four years of Hunger Games. You're not going to change that Paddy, you don't have a chance. I on the other hand have more of a chance, and I'm not going to have them ruined by some hanger-on. I will make it home to Skye." She finished fiercely as she glared at Paddy.

Paddy was taken aback by everything that she had just said, not expecting that kind of response. As he walked away, Fenella was almost certain she heard some rather rude words about her muttered under Paddy's breath, but she didn't really care. She couldn't afford to be looking out for someone else, and her little sister was the only thing she could think about.

Paddy was downhearted now, and as he walked around the room, it didn't go unnoticed. Natasha was watching him as her and Alex hung around the obstacle course.

"Hey, that kid looks pretty down." Natasha commented, feeling sorry for the young boy.

"So what?" Alex said lazily.

"So… maybe we should ask him to join us? I heard a rumour that he's a bit of a thief, he'd fit in well with us!"

"No chance." Alex replied coldy. "I'm not having some kid tag along with us. We're better off just sticking together."

"Oh stop being moody!" Natasha said as she laughed. "What was his name?"

"How should I know?!" Alex replied angrily as he turned away.

"Hey, District 9 kid!" Paddy looked round as Natasha called for him. "Over here!"

As Paddy walked over, Alex hissed at Natasha. "What the hell are you doing?"

Natasha didn't respond as Paddy reached them. "Hey! What was your name again?"

"Paddy." He replied, still not quite sure why they had called him over.

"So Paddy… we hear you were a bit of a criminal back in District 9?"

Paddy shrugged. "I guess. Just shops and houses really." He answered, trying to ignore Alex's ice cold stare.

Natasha smiled. "Love it! We're in a gang back in District 12. Maybe you should ally with us? Us criminals have got to help each other out!"

"Yeah that would be great!" He said, completely elated.

"I didn't agree to this!" Alex shouted, his eyes flaring up. "We need to talk Natasha!" he said angrily as he stormed off to a quiet corner of the training room.

Natasha sighed. "I'd better go sort this out. We'll talk later kid." She said as she ran after Alex.

Paddy smiled as he walked away, feeling hope again.

Meanwhile, Lily was at the hand to hand combat section. She was thoroughly enjoying herself, letting off all her steam sparring with the trainer, who was actually rather impressed with her strength, considering she was a sixteen year old from District 11.

As she took a break to get a drink of water, she considered what to do next. _I could really do with learning some survival skills. _She thought to herself, although her thoughts were distracted by presence she felt behind her.

Lily turned round to find Bryce standing there. "Hi. Lily right?"

She gave him a suspicious look. "Yeah. What do you want?"

Bryce smirked. "No need to give me that attitude. I was just going to tell you that I was watching you while you fought that trainer. Your strength was decent but you lacked technique."

Lily took offence. "I don't need your advice. Leave me alone."

"Are you sure? I've had my fair share of fights…" Bryce said

"Whatever." Lily replied as she began to walk off.

"So I guess you don't want to know how you should keep your fists raised higher at all times when you're not throwing a punch to defend yourself properly, and that your stance would be a lot better to give full strength to your attacks if you just kept your damn back straight."

Lily turned back around to look at Bryce with renewed interest. She hated to admit it, but what he said made sense.

"I guess maybe I could do with help." She said casually.

Bryce laughed loudly, as Lily glared at him. "What's so funny?"

He looked at her, still chuckling. "Oh don't worry! Not like I'm doing you a favour or anything… c'mon, let's get back over to the station then and we can both have a go."

As they made their way back over, Lily suddenly thought of something. "Bryce… I just want to make it clear. We may be helping each other now, but I'm not going to be allies. I'm going it alone in the arena."

"Don't flatter yourself. I have no intention of being allies either." He replied as they reached the station. "Now let's get on with it!"

And as Bryce began showing Lily some of his tips, there was a sense of mutual respect between the two tributes who were normally so distrusting.


	20. Training Part 2

**Hi everyone! Sorry I've taken a while to update, I'm at university and I've been very busy this last week.**

**Hope you all enjoy this chapter, and thanks for reading and reviewing!**

* * *

It was the second day of training, and the District 5 tributes had spent most of their time at the weapons station. They were there now, Murray practising his sword fighting skills with one of the centre's trainers, and Mimi at the practise range with her bow and arrow.

As they reconvened for a break, Murray grinned cheekily at Mimi. "You were right about that bow and arrow. Saw you hitting some decent shots!"

"Thanks." Mimi said, looking distracted.

"Aw, not even a compliment in return?" Murray said with a playful expression on his face. "I was hoping that you were watching me while I was displaying my skills."

"Shut up Murray." Mimi replied. "I'm not sure if we should be showing our skills off so much. If the careers see us we'll be targets."

"You worry too much!" Murray said with a laugh as he looked over at the careers. His eyes locked on Andromeda with her beautiful red hair, and he found himself thinking again how good looking the female careers were this year. "Hmm, I might go talk to that Andromeda girl." He said to Mimi.

"Murray!" Mimi exclaimed. "She's not going to be interested. Please don't attract the attention of the careers."

Murray simply laughed. "See you in a bit with my new woman on my arm."

Mimi was right, the District 5 tributes had not gone unnoticed. Bluebell had seen them practising, and had already alerted the other careers to them. "That girl was hitting bullseyes!" Bluebell exclaimed.

"And the boy didn't look too shabby with the sword either." Alissa said.

"I'll sort it." Runyon said with a smirk, and before anyone could stop him he began to walk towards Murray, who was getting closer to the careers. As they crossed each other, Runyon deliberately shoulder barged him hard, knocking him to the ground.

Despite being taken aback, Murray jumped up quickly. "Hey! What do you think you're doing you brute?" He shouted at Runyon.

Runyon got right up in Murray's face. "Who are you talking to District 5? You think you go up against me? We saw you with that sword, and your pretty partner with her bow and arrow. Just know that you're targeted now. The girl too."

Murray couldn't find a response, and got up and walked back over to Mimi. Andromeda sighed as she watched the altercation.

"You really don't like violence do you?"

Andromeda turned around to see Salton standing near her. She hadn't spoken much to the District 4 boy yet, her first perception of him was that he was mysterious and quiet. "No… I guess I don't." She replied.

"Why did you volunteer then? Aren't you meant to be a career?" Salton asked.

"Look… it's kind of private ok. I may not be as violent as the rest of you but I'm still here to win." Andromeda replied.

Salton didn't say anything for a few seconds, simply looking at Andromeda rather intently. Andromeda couldn't help but notice his gorgeous dark green eyes. "Don't worry, I believe you." He said with a smile. "I'm not the biggest fan of confrontation either."

"It'll be good to have another level-headed career." Andromeda replied. "There's so many crazy ones this year. And Bluebell is going to receive so many sponsors cos of her looks, which is gonna shoot her arrogance up even further."

"Well… she's not as pretty as you." Salton muttered.

"What?" Andromeda asked in surprise.

"Nothing!" Salton replied quickly. "Let's go back to training shall we?"

As he walked over back to the weapons section, Andromeda couldn't but feel that this boy was even more mysterious that she had first thought.

Meanwhile, Nash had been observing all that was going on with interest. He had considered his strategy for the arena, and had decided that he was going have to make allies in order to survive. But he wasn't going to just ally with anyone. The other tributes had written him off as strange for being a loner in not partaking in any actual training. Nash liked this, as it had given him privacy to assess the best tributes to interact with. He had overhead Mimi's conversation with Murray earlier, and liked the girl's resilience.

Nash approached the District 5 tributes as Murray was telling Mimi about what Runyon had said. "Hi." He said.

The two turned round in surprise. They had not seen Nash speak to anyone else yet. Murray was suspicious, but Mimi was more friendly. "Hi!" She said brightly. "Nash right?"

"Yeah." Nash replied. "Nice to meet you. I'm gonna cut to the chase. I was wondering if you'd both like to be allies with me?"

"Oh that'd be great, wouldn't it Murray?" Mimi said excitedly. "We were talking about getting more people to form an alliance weren't we?"

Murray looked slightly irritated about Mimi making the decision without asking him. "I guess you can join us. Are we going to ask more people to ally with us then?"

Mimi looked around the training room, and saw Morris and Karina. "How about the District 10 tributes? That Morris guy seems really nice, he could be helpful in the arena!"

Murray looked at her in surprise. "Ok Morris, fair enough… but Karina? She's a cripple!"

"Don't be horrible Murray!" Mimi replied. "Nash?"

"I agree." Nash said quietly. "Morris seems like he'd be willing to help out in the arena."

"But…" Murray began, but Mimi and Nash had already began walking towards Morris and Karina, chatting together. Murray swore under his breath as he jogged to catch up with them.

Karina was feeling very happy right now. After seeing how much she had struggled at the chariot ride, the Capitol had decided to give Karina a prosthetic leg. The Capitol didn't normally help tributes out in this manner, but President Neal had declared that it would be much better to have all tributes as strong as possible for the games.

As Karina happily walked around comfortably on both legs for the first time in years, Morris smiled with content as he watched her. "You're looking more confident Karina!"

"Thanks Morris." Karina said. She felt more confident. Despite the fact that she was still blind, the ability to move around without hobbling for the first time in four years was incredible.

"Hey, there's some other tributes coming towards us." Morris said.

As the alliance of three reached them, it was Mimi that spoke first. "Hi guys! Morris and Karina right?" She said brightly.

"Yeah. Hi." Karina replied.

"Can we help you with anything?" Morris asked.

Mimi smiled. "Well… we're an alliance. And we were wondering if you'd be interested in joining us?"

Both tributes were completely taken aback. "You want us?" Morris asked in surprise. "It's ok, we wouldn't want to be a burden on you…"

"Morris!" Karina said in annoyance.

"You wouldn't be a burden at all." Nash said. "We believe you can be valuable members of our team. Also it's best that us non-career tributes try and support each other isn't it? Maybe one of us will make it home that way."

"I'd love to join you." Karina said, and Morris nodded in agreement.

"That's great!" Mimi said excitedly. "Why don't you join us at the weapons section…"

During this time, Audrey and Teddy were busy over at the poison identification station. After having a short go, they had decided that they weren't going to have time in three days to learn how to use the weapons properly, so had instead spent their time exploring all the different stations. They had already spent time at the knot-tying station, the plant identification station, and the fire-building station.

The two District 8 tributes were finding it all so interesting. Coming from their urban district, many elements of the stations such as the plant identification one were completely new to them. Now learning about poisons, Audrey was picking it up fast.

"So this one is Arsenic… this one is Hemlock… and this one is Aconite." Audrey commented as she pointed at each individual poison.

"Very good Audrey!" The trainer said in excitement.

Audrey smiled and looked round at Teddy to share her enthusiasm. He wasn't really paying attention though. She realised he hadn't said a word in a while, and was notably distracted as he looked down at the floor.

"Everything alright Teddy?" She asked with a smile.

Teddy sniffed. "N-no not r-really Audrey." He looked like he was about to cry.

Audrey put her arm around him. "Well listen… if there's anything you want to talk about, you can talk to me."

Teddy looked up in surprise. Not having many friends back home, he was only used to this kind of sympathy from his sister. "T-thanks Audrey. I d-do want to t-talk about s-something… but I don't know if I c-can tell you."

"C'mon Teddy! We're friends now. You can tell me anything."

Teddy smiled. "Y-you think we're f-friends?"

"Of course!" Audrey replied brightly. "And friends tell each other their secrets and help each other out, so go on, talk to me!"

Teddy paused. "Ok. C-can we go s-somewhere more p-private?"

They walked over to a discrete corner of the training room, and Audrey waited for Teddy to talk. He was breathing deeply, shaking from nerves.

"Ok Teddy, you ready to tell me?" She asked

Teddy took a deep breath. "I-I'm gay Audrey. And I l-love this boy c-called Carson at h-home. And I n-never told hi-hm that. A-and now I'm g-going to d-die and I'll n-never be a-able to tell h-him my true f-feelings." Teddy blabbered, before he began to cry. "I'll u-understand if y-you think i'm w-weird for b-being gay. You're t-the first p-person i've e-ever told."

Audrey laughed. "For crying out loud Teddy! I don't think you're weird! There's nothing wrong with being gay. As for Carson… well I know how it feels. There was this boy called James, and I never told him how much I liked him either."

"A-Aren't you u-upset?" Teddy asked.

"Not anymore. I've learnt to accept the Hunger Games, and I've blocked out all feelings of missing everyone back in District 8. I'm putting my full efforts into making it home, and you should really do the same."

Audrey's words felt slightly harsh, but Teddy knew they made sense. He attempted to stop crying, and put on a brave face.

"T-thanks Audrey. S-shall we go b-back over to the s-station?"

Meanwhile, Vern watched the District 8 tributes as they made their way back over. He was another tribute that had spent most of the time training on his own. Rejected by Lily, he had found it hard to summon up the courage to talk to any other tributes, and had spent most of the second day attempting to learn some form of weapons skills. He had actually found new found confidence once he had got used to using a double-ended dagger. When he had been practising, the trainer had commented on how good his skills were for a District 11 tribute.

With this new confidence running through him, he decide to break through his usual social barriers and talk to the District 8 tributes. They didn't look very strong themselves, and he knew that the girl was only fourteen. _They'll probably appreciate the offer of an older tribute looking after them. _Vern thought to himself as he walked over to the shelter-building station where Audrey and Teddy had decided to go next.

Vern sat down, and busied himself with building his own shelter. He noted Audrey and Teddy looking at him with shy curiosity, and decided this was his chance to talk to them.

"How's the shelter going guys?" He asked.

Audrey looked round in surprise. She had had this guy marked down as a shy loner. "Erm…good thanks. Sorry what was your name again?"

"Vern Tillier." He replied, pleased that she was showing interest. "I'm from District 11."

"Well hi Vern. I'm Audrey and this is Teddy, and we're from District 8."

"It's n-nice to m-meet you." Teddy said shyly.

"You too." Vern said, instantly liking the sweet looking boy. "Well… would you guys want to..?" He paused as he asked the question, fearing more rejection.

"What?" Audrey asked.

"Oh it doesn't matter." Vern asked, becoming nervous now.

Audrey looked confused. "Ok then. C'mon Teddy, we haven't checked out the edible bugs station yet."

As they walked off, Vern shouted "Wait!"

Audrey and Teddy looked round in surprise. "I just wanted to know… if you guys would want to be allies with me?" Vern asked.

The two tributes paused. Teddy looked at Audrey for help, and saw that she her thinking, before her face broke out into a smile. "I'd like that. What do you think Teddy?"

"F-fine by m-me." Teddy said.

Vern sighed in relief. Maybe there was some hope after all.


	21. Facing the Gamemakers

**Found time to get a second chapter up today! I decided to go for something a bit different with this chapter, by writing this part from the perspective of the Gamemakers. I thought it'd be interesting for you to read about a different type of opinion on all the tributes.**

Hope you all enjoy, and thanks for reading and reviewing!

* * *

The morning of day three of training had passed rather uneventfully, with the tributes desperately trying to squeeze in some last minute training. Now it was the afternoon, and they were getting ready to face the gamemakers, who would judge them and release the scores to the whole of Panem. These scores could be what would make or break the tributes in terms of attracting support and sponsors.

Head Gamemaker Elroy Criswell was sitting in his seat, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the first tribute. Criswell took his job very seriously, something that couldn't be said for the other gamemakers, who found the whole scoring procedure boring and a waste of time. Criswell, however, rather enjoyed it.

"When are we starting? Let's get this over and done with!" One of the gamemakers shouted from the back.

"Quiet! I want everyone paying full attention! This is not turning into another drunken mess like it does every year!" Criswell shouted.

Everyone fell quiet, although some audible grunts of annoyance were heard. It was Criswell's first year as Head Gamemaker, and he wanted everything to go as smoothly as possible.

It was at that moment that the first tribute finally walked in.

"Bluebell Jamison?" Criswell asked. "Please begin."

"Thank you very much!" Bluebell said loudly, beaming a smile. "Today, gamemakers, I am going to show you my skills with a sword."

The gamemakers interest immediately perked up upon seeing the attractive, enthusiastic girl. Bluebell picked up a sword, and ran the obstacle course with ease, fighting off trainers with her weapon who tried to knock her off it. It was an impressive performance. Once she had finished, she curtsied to the gamemakers.

"Thank you dear." Criswell said.

"Oh no, _thank you_ head gamemaker Criswell!" She said with a dazzling smile as she walked out the room.

The other gamemakers began chatting happily about how much they liked District 1's tributes every year, and how much politer they were than the other district's tributes, just as Velour and Shimmer walked in.

"Hellooooooo Gamemakers!" Velour said in a loud voice. "Shimmer and myself are about to show you sword-fighting like you've never seen before!"

"Just get on with it please." Criswell said bluntly, not caring for dramatics.

The twins began fighting against four of the trainers, displaying their excellent ability at fighting multiple enemies at once. The gamemakers were certainly impressed, and Criswell knew that these two would be of great interest to sponsors. "Thank you twins." He said.

The two bowed before leaving the room, to be replaced by Andromeda, who selected the kamas. She fought well against the trainer, although Criswell could tell her heart wasn't in it as much as other careers. Nevertheless, he would make sure that her weapon of choice was included in the cornucopia.

Runyon entered next, and Criswell watched the boy pick up a sword with interest. He was the typical District 2 brute, but Criswell thought he had something more to him. The boy had a psychotic look in his eyes.

Runyon fought extremely well, the trainer he was against couldn't even counterattack against Runyon's fierce blows with his sword.

"Thank you Runyon, that will be enough!" Criswell shouted, stopping him before he could hurt the trainer.

"You'd better give me a 12!" Runyon shouted, glaring as he left the room.

"Some temper…" One of the gamemakers commented.

"He'll give the spectators what they want." Criswell replied, as Bree entered the room next.

"Hi." She said. "I'm going to show you my abilities with traps."

Criswell watched with interest as Bree began showing how to set up a snare big enough to trap a human being. As Bree finished, she approached the gamemakers. "You didn't have it available in the training centre, but I would really appreciate it if there was anything in the arena electrical that could be used for traps. I'm quite capable with electrical devices."

Criswell liked her politeness. "Thank you Bree. You may leave."

As Bree left, Criswell pondered her words. He was sure he could include something that could help her make things interesting in the arena.

Orren entered next, slouching, and walked over to the throwing knives. The gamemakers' interest perked, as District 3 tributes were not normally so handy with weapons. Orren threw ten knives consecutively, hitting the centre target with almost every throw.

Criswell was impressed. He would have to make sure that throwing knives were accessible to this boy in the arena. Orren left, and Alissa came in next, practically bouncing with enthusiasm.

"Hello gamemakers! Such a pleasure to meet you all! I'm going to show you my skills with an old District 4 favourite, the trident!"

As Alissa fought against the trainer, it became apparent that her enthusiasm had made her distracted. The trainer forced her on the defensive more than once, and her abilities were not quite up to the usual career standard.

"Thank you Alissa." Criswell said.

Alissa didn't move, it was obvious she knew she hadn't performed as well as she liked. "Any thoughts on the score you're going to give me? It's just cos i wanted to ask…"

Criswell was not happy. "Excuse me! Please leave the room immediately. We do not appreciate nosey comments."

Alissa left with her head down, to be replaced by Salton. This was the career that Criswell knew least about, quieter than the rest.

Salton walked over without saying a word, and picked up a bow and arrow. He stood back further than a tribute normally would from the target, and fired three shots. His aim was impeccable, with all three striking the bullseye.

The gamemakers talked in excitement as Criswell dismissed Salton. Mimi came in next, and this was when most of the gamemakers began to lose interest. Once the careers were finished, judging the tributes often became incredibly boring. Criswell knew better however, knowing of the many strong tributes this year from non-career districts.

"Hi! I'm going to use a bow and arrow for my demonstration." Mimi said brightly, as she walked over to the practise range. She wasn't quite as good as Salton, but still impressed with some shots hitting the centre of the target.

Murray came in next, looking cocky. Criswell was already aware of the arrogant District 5 tribute from his relatively privileged background. "Good afternoon." He said with a grin. "I kindly invite you all to witness my sword-fighting display."

As he fought the trainer, it was clear that he wasn't up to the standard of the careers, despite displaying a decent handling with the sword. Regardless, Criswell thought that this boy would get on well, as he believed that sponsors would love his charisma.

Medusa entered next, looking as calm and collected as always. "Hello. I'm Medusa." She said as she stared right at Criswell. "I trust that if I impress you enough with my weapon of choice I can ensure its appearance in the cornucopia?"

Many of the gamemakers were freaked out by this fourteen year old girl. "Please get on with it." Criswell responded.

Medusa did so, displaying decent skills with the katana. She was very impressive for a fourteen year old from a non-career district. As Medusa thanked the gamemakers calmly and left the room, Bryce entered.

"Hello gamemakers! I hope you'll enjoy my performance!" Bryce said as he began.

Criswell was surprised with his charisma, and was very interested in this tribute. As a criminal, he was sure to be better than the average District 6 boy. However, Bryce did not overly impress, displaying his average skills with a knife against a trainer, although showed his real strength when employing hand to hand combat.

Azalea from District 7 came in next. All the gamemakers knew who she was, being the daughter of the famous winner Gerald Tigris. There were strong rumours that Gerald had been training his daughter for years, but no-one really cared, just like with the career districts. If it made for a more interesting games, why would anyone want to put a stop to it?

"Hello. I'm going to be using an axe today." Azalea said rather bluntly. Her performance against the trainer was outstanding, displaying natural control with the axe that she held in her hands.

_One of the best so far… _Criswell mused to himself as Nash entered the room. He picked up the knives, and even Criswell had to admit to himself that this was where it began to get less interesting, as they got closer to the outlier districts.

The other gamemakers were distracted by the arrival of more wine, and were getting steadily drunker. Criswell, however, kept his attention on the tributes. Nash was not impressive with his knife, and it was clear that he had never really used one before.

Audrey was next, and Criswell watched with interest as she went for something original, walking over to the poison identification station. She correctly named several different types of poison and their effects, as well as identifying which mushrooms were poisonous. He was impressed.

As Audrey left, Teddy entered, visibly shaking from nerves. He stood for a few moments, frozen to where he was standing.

"Get on with it kid!" One of the more drunk gamemakers barked at him.

Criswell looked angrily at the drunken oaf, but it had the desired effect, as Teddy went for a similar tact to Audrey, walking over to the plant identification station and telling the gamemakers which were edible, although he did make some mistakes.

_It will help him in the arena… but it's not anything special. _Criswell thought as Fenella came in next. He thought what a moody girl she was as she walked over to pick up a scythe without saying a word, before fighting a trainer with it. Her abilities were decent for a District 9 tribute, even with some errors.

"Thank you…" Criswell began, but Fenella had already began to stride out the room, still not saying a word.

"Cheeky bitch!" One of the gamemakers shouted, slurring his words. "We're the gamemakers! Have some respect!"

"Wine Sir?" One of the other gamemakers offered him.

"Just one glass please." Criswell replied. "You'd better all still be paying attention!" He shouted as he glared at the other gamemakers.

Paddy was next, and chose to go on the obstacle course. However, as he was halfway through the course, a trainer caught him in the ankle, and he fell off the course onto the ground. Many of the gamemakers roared in drunken laughter as Paddy got up sheepishly.

"Thank you Patrick. You may leave." Criswell said as the other gamemakers still sniggered in the background. Paddy left the room, looking disheartened, to be replaced by Karina. Criswell immediately remembered who the girl was, and groaned.

However, he was surprised as Karina walked over to the bug identification station, and correctly identified which bugs were edible, using her sense of touch to do so. Criswell was impressed with the girl.

"Thank you." Karina said politely as she left the room. Morris was next, and he began displaying a variety of survival skills he had learnt over the course of the three days such as fire-building. Most of the gamemakers had completely lost interest by now, too busy talking amongst themselves and getting drunk. Criswell had decided to ignore them for now, wanting to focus his attention on the tributes. He would deal with them later.

Lily came in next, looking irritated. _One of the more notable tributes. _Criswell thought as he remembered her reaping. He then realised that she hadn't started yet, standing still with her arms crossed.

"Please start Lily. We have a tight schedule." Criswell said.

"I'm not going to show you anything. This whole procedure of scoring us is a waste of time designed for pointless gambling, and I shall not partake in it."

"How dare you!" One of the gamemakers roared. "Do as you are you told filthy outlier tribute!"

"That's enough." Criswell said fiercely to this particular game maker.

"Oh shut it Criswell! Think you're so much better than us don't you?" The gamemaker shouted in replied.

"Please escort him out." Criswell said to two of the peacekeepers. As the gamemaker was escorted out, shouting his protests, Criswell turned back to Lily. "Please leave Lily."

Lily left, pleased with the disruption she had caused. Vern entered next, looking the opposite to Lily in how nervous he was. However, Criswell's interest in Vern perked up when he saw his skills with a double-ended dagger, as he put up a solid fight against one of the trainers. Criswell made a mental note to include one of the daggers in the cornucopia.

As Vern left, many of the gamemakers gave audible sighs of relief. One more district, and it would be over. Natasha was the penultimate tribute to be judged.

She displayed decent skills, showing off a fighting style similar to kickboxing as she fought a trainer. Criswell knew that hand to hand combat didn't get you that far in the games however. He thought that she would have been better off displaying her capabilities with a weapon.

Alex was the last tribute to enter, and Criswell immediately noted the psychotic look in his expression. He walked over aggressively to the weapons rack, and made a rather interesting choice of weapon in the form of sickle. As he fought the trainer, it was clear that he was experienced with it.

As Alex left the room, Criswell turned round in his chair to talk to the other gamemakers about the tributes. Many were too drunk to care, but some were still ready to give their opinions.

"That Alex kid was surprisingly good with the sickle." One of them noted.

"I'd say a 6." One of the others said

Criswell smiled. "We're going to give Mr Trent a slightly higher score."

"Why?" One of the gamemakers queried.

"As you may or may not be aware, it wasn't much of a coincidence that the Trent twins were both reaped into the games. Both part of that gang that's causing trouble to District 12. President Neal felt it was necessary that they were removed." Criswell said.

"So why aren't we giving Natasha a higher score?" A gamemaker asked.

"You are a fool." Criswell replied with a laugh. "It would be too suspicious if both District 12 tributes received high scores. Anyway… Alex is the leader of that little gang. President Neal would love to see him get torn apart by the careers."

"Excellent." A gamemaker said, and many others nodded in agreement.

Criswell smiled. It was certainly going to be a games to remember.


	22. Scores

**Hi everyone! Sorry for the short chapter, but I wanted to keep it brief as its purpose is mainly just to announce the scores.**

**The interview chapters are next, and should be up soon! And after that the games will finally begin.**

**Hope you enjoy, and thanks for reading and reviewing!**

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For this year's announcement of the training scores received by the tributes, the Capitol had decided to do things slightly differently.

Head Gamemaker Criswell had decided that the tributes were going to be all seated together in the same room to watch the live announcement of their scores. They were going to be on camera the whole time, with Capitol viewers able to see their reactions on one half of the screen, and Caesar Flickerman announcing the scores on the other half. There would of course be peacekeepers on hand for any trouble amongst the tributes.

As they filed in, many of the tributes were clearly not exactly happy to be here, many feeling uneasy due to the amount of cameramen. Shimmer was shouting about how this was all an unnecessary charade, and several others looked extremely moody. Despite this, they were all keen to know their scores.

They were ordered to sit in order of their respective districts, and as they found their seats, Bryce and Lily walked past each other, acknowledging each other briefly. Despite Bryce helping her in training, both had agreed that they were going to stay as loners for the games. Neither could trust anyone enough to make any allies.

Just as the last of the tributes sat down, a rather fierce looking peacekeeper stepped in front of the group. "Now tributes. You are being screened live on national television. I want no trouble whatsoever, got that? You are respecting your districts, and more importantly, Panem."

Audrey rolled her eyes. _What a stupid man. _She thought.

The peacekeeper then stepped away, and the cameras began focusing more intently on the tributes as the big television screen flashed on in front of them, to reveal Caesar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith's beaming faces.

"Hello Panem! Welcome to the 35th Hunger Games! It's sure to be an exciting one isn't it?" Caesar asked, turning to Claudius.

"It certainly is Caesar. Plenty of strong tributes this year, should be very interesting!" Claudius replied, looking excited.

"I agree Claudius. And now without further ado Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to reveal the training scores for each tribute!" Caesar shouted as the studio crowd screamed in delight.

Bluebell squirmed excitedly in her chair. _This is it… my score. _She thought to herself.

"Bluebell Jamison from District 1, scoring a 9!"

"YEEEES!" Bluebell screamed in delight, as other tributes looked at her in annoyance, including the twins, who were glaring openly.

"Velour and Shimmer Gemine from District 1, scoring an 8!"

"WHAT?!" Shimmer shouted in anger, throwing his hands up dramatically. "How dare they give us an 8!" Velour stayed quiet, but it was clear from his eyes that he was seething.

_I'm next. _Andromeda thought, praying that she had done enough to ensure that the careers wouldn't think of her as weak.

"Andromeda Ryan from District 2, scoring an 8!"

Andromeda sighed with relief. An 8 was good enough. Runyon was up next, and he was visibly quivering with excitement.

"Runyon Greenlaw from District 2, scoring a 10!"

"AGHHHH!" Runyon screamed in delight. "The best of the careers so far!" He shouted in glee, turning to look at Andromeda.

She simply smirked. Andromeda had learnt that the best way to respond to Runyon was to not pay him any attention.

"Bree Lloyd from District 3, scoring a 6!"

Bree smiled happily. A 6 was great for a District 3 tribute. Orren patted her shoulder, grinning. It was his turn next.

"Orren Noults from District 3, scoring an 8!"

Bree gasped in delight, as Orren slouched back in his chair, feeling happy. He was so pleased he hadn't noticed the careers looking a lot more interested in him than they previously had been before.

"Alissa Crestwood from District 4, scoring a 7!"

_Only a seven? _Alissa thought in dismay. It was the lowest of the careers so far, and Alissa was sure that the others wouldn't let her forget it. She prayed that Salton had also scored low, as she looked at him slumped in his chair, as quiet as ever. All Salton could concentrate on was his score.

"Salton Calder from District 4, scoring a 9!

Salton smiled. _That'll do nicely. _He thought to himself. He didn't notice Alissa looking very upset.

"Mimi Laven from District 5, scoring a 7!"

Mimi smiled, very happy with her score. At least now she had a chance of attracting sponsors.

"Murray Greene from District 5, scoring a 6!"

"Well, looks like you beat me cutie!" Murray said with a cheeky grin.

Medusa and Bryce both sat quietly, still not talking to each other since their fight on the train. Both were coming across as calm as they awaited their scores.

"Medusa Krinvox from District 6, scoring a 7!"

Medusa simply noted in acceptance, while Bryce looked annoyed. _I can't believe she scored a 7… _He thought to himself angrily.

"Bryce Lichen from District 6, scoring a 6!"

Bryce was even more annoyed now. And as Medusa turned to him and grinned smugly, it took all his restraint to not respond to her provocation.

Azalea sat impatiently waiting for her score. _I have to be the best, I just know I'll be! _She thought confidently.

"Azalea Tigris from District 7, scoring a 10!"

"Yes!" Azalea shouted as she stood up, punching the air in delight.

Runyon was watching her, furious that someone else had matched his score. But then he smiled. It would be so easy to dispatch of this stupid wannabe career girl.

"Nash Lockhart from District 7, scoring a 3!"

Nash's heart sunk. _The lowest score so far. _He thought to himself. Nash didn't allow it to show that it was bothering him though. He wasn't going to give Azalea the satisfaction.

"Audrey Manzel from District 8, scoring a 5!"

Audrey half-smiled. It was good enough. She then became aware of Teddy's nervous hands shaking as he clenched hers tightly.

"Teddy Garland from District 8, scoring a 3!"

Teddy sighed. It was what he had expected. At least he wasn't the worst outright. And the whole experience was made better by Audrey being there with him.

"Fenella Reed from District 9, scoring a 6!"

Fenella did not respond to her score, simply looking irritated by the whole proceedings. _I'm happy with that… _She thought to herself. But she wasn't going to show that to anyone.

Paddy sighed as he watched her. He wasn't looking forward to his own score.

"Patrick Ackerman from District 9, scoring a 2!"

Paddy looked horrified. _The worst score out of anyone! _He thought in panic as he slumped down in his chair. He was so relieved that Natasha and Alex had decided to let him join their alliance. Paddy knew that Alex wasn't exactly thrilled to have his company, but Natasha was lovely to him. It was nice to have someone looking out for him.

"Karina Carr from District 10, scoring a 5!"

Karina gasped in shock, as Morris hugged her in delight. Many of the other tributes were looking over in surprise at the blind girl, wondering what she could have possibly done to get a 5.

"Morris Wayward Jr from District 10, scoring a 4!"

Morris hadn't known what to expect, after how drunk the gamemakers were when he had demonstrated his skills. He accepted that it was a decent enough score. As he looked across the room, he saw Mimi waving at him happily, giving him a thumbs-up.

"Lily Star from District 11, scoring a 1!"

Lily did not react, simply sitting angrily with her arms crossed. She was not going to give the Capitol the satisfaction of seeing her emotions, although she was finding it very hard once she became aware of the careers mocking her.

"Vern Tillier from District 11, scoring a 6!"

_I'm happy with that. _Vern thought, just hoping that the gamemakers would put one of the daggers close to him in the arena as a result of this.

"Natasha Trent from District 12, scoring a 6!"

Natasha grimaced. It was an average score, but it would do. She was sure Alex would score higher.

"Alex Trent from District 12, scoring a 9!"

Natasha gasped in shock, and even Alex couldn't help but look surprised.

"I got a 9…?" He said, looking rather confused.

"Alex, you beat some of the careers! That's amazing!" Natasha said in a hushed voice, just as Caesar began giving the final announcements.

"Thank you very much for watching Panem, and we'll see you all soon for some more Hunger Games coverage!" Caesar said excitedly.

"May the odds be ever in your favour!"


	23. Interviews Part 1

**Hi everyone! I decide to upload the interviews in four chapters in the end, as they ended up taking longer than I thought to write. I also wanted to give you guys another chapter seeing as we haven't had one in a few days :)**

**Hope you enjoy, and thanks for reading and reviewing!**

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the interviews for the 35th Hunger Games! Introducing your host, Caesar Flickerman!"

Caesar walked onto the stage in a bright purple suit, waving happily to the screaming crowd. The man had quite the reputation in the Capitol, and capitolites loved him.

Meanwhile, Bluebell was waiting backstage, extremely excited. She looked beautiful tonight, wearing a strapless dark blue dress that went down to her thigh, with her long black hair combed by her stylists into a stunning wavy style.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you the first tribute we are meeting tonight! Bluebell Jamison from District 1!"

Bluebell walked onto the stage, smiling broadly and waving to the crowd happily as they screamed their adoration for her. The Capitol always loved District 1 tributes, and Bluebell had already won many fans, especially amongst the men.

As she took her seat, Caesar turned to her and smiled. "So Bluebell, you already seem to have made quite the impression! And may I say you look beautiful tonight!"

"Thank you Caesar!" Bluebell said with a smile. She was loving every moment of this.

"And you seem very enthusiastic to be here!" Caesar replied.

"I am Caesar! I'm so happy to be in the Hunger Games, and I love the Capitol!"

The crowd roared their approval as Bluebell blew kisses at them. Once Caesar had calmed them down, he moved on to another topic. "So Bluebell… a little birdie tells me you're engaged?"

Bluebell smiled in delight. "Yes I am Caesar! To a beautiful man named Blaise Kendall. We're getting married as soon as I come back as victor!"

"Such confidence!" Caesar said in mock surprise as the crowd screamed their love for this self-assured young woman. "Many of your male fans are going to be disappointed at this!"

"Oh Caesar, don't make me blush!" Bluebell said, laughing.

"So… I'm assuming your family approve of this marriage?" Caesar asked, knowing that the Capitol would be keen to hear any details.

"Of course!" Bluebell replied. "My parents love Blaise, and my brother Topaz gets on so well with him!"

"Fantastic." Caesar said with a smile. "So Bluebell… I'm assuming you believe you have a chance of winning the Hunger Games?"

"Of course!" Bluebell said. "Why else would I be here? I'm a career, I'm here to win!"

The crowd cheered for her yet again. "So is it a good career pack this year then?" Caesar asked.

"Oh yes Caesar. There's actually eight of us this year round, so we promise to deliver a high kill count, especially me!"

"Any hints at your strategy for the arena?" Caesar asked with a wink.

"You'll have to wait and see. But I can guarantee you a great show!" Bluebell replied, her eyes glimmering.

As the buzzer went off, Caesar turned towards the crowd. "So that's the end of our first interview! Bluebell Jamison everybody!"

Bluebell walked off waving and blowing kisses again to her fans, as they cheered loudly for her. She was so pleased with how the interview had gone.

"Next up Ladies and Gentlemen, we have one of the more interesting tributes we've ever had! Or is it two tributes? Please welcome Velour and Shimmer Gemine!"

The twins walked onto the stage, wearing a dark blue suit of a similar colour to Bluebell's dress, which had been customised to fit them both properly. Most of the viewers had already seen them on the television, but many were still shocked to see them in the flesh. There had never been conjoined twins before in the Hunger Games.

Despite this, the crowd still cheered loudly for them, as they did for every District 1 tribute. Shimmer was lapping up every moment of the attention, gesturing his hands wildly to the crowd. Velour was less joyful, but still waved to the crowd, showing his appreciation.

Once they had finally sat down, Caesar began the interview. "So Velour and Shimmer… boy was I surprised when I saw you run up to that stage at your reapings! We'd love it if you could explain your condition properly to us?"

Shimmer was only too happy too oblige. "We're joined by the pelvis, which makes us pygopagus twins. There are many different variants of conjoined twins, but in our case we share the same organs, and often share the same thoughts and feelings."

"This is all fascinating." Caesar said. "So do you have similar personalities?"

"Well, in some ways…" Shimmer replied. "But I will admit I'm a lot more eccentric… where as Velour is…"

"A lot more chilled out." Velour finished.

Shimmer looked irritated. "Hey! I can be chilled out when I want to be."

Velour snorted. "The only time you're chilled out is when you're asleep…"

The crowd laughed loudly at the twins' antics. "So boys…" Caesar said, trying to get the interview back on track. "Let's talk Hunger Games. I'm assuming you think you can win?"

"Of course!" Shimmer exclaimed. "We're going to kill so much Caesar, I can't wait!"

"We'll show no mercy." Velour added.

"Yes… yes, no mercy!" Shimmer said abruptly. "NO MERCY!" He shouted, laughing a maniacal laugh as he raised his head to the sky.

Caesar looked slightly scared, but composed himself enough to ask another question. "And what of your fighting style? Anything you can reveal to us?"

"We fight with two swords each!" Shimmer said excitedly. "Four swords Caesar! Do you know how many tributes we can kill with four swords?"

"The others won't stand a chance." Velour said coldly.

"We have some other tricks up our sleeve too." Shimmer said. "Things we can do with our body… that, let's just say, greatly enhance our fighting style."

"You'll have never seen anything like it." Velour said.

"Well we all look forward to it!" Caesar shouted as the buzzer went off. "Velour and Shimmer ladies and gentlemen, the first ever conjoined twins in Hunger Games history!"

The crowd cheered loudly as Velour and Shimmer walked off the stage. Many simply stared, fascinated by them.

"Now for District 2! Andromeda Ryan everybody!"

Andromeda walked onto the stage, looking more stunning that she ever had done before, wearing an elegant navy blue dress that reached the floor, her long red hair styled into beautiful long curls.

"Andromeda… it's a pleasure to meet you." Caesar said with a broad smile.

"You too Caesar!" Andromeda replied. She hated the Hunger Games, but she knew she had to play this right if she was going to have any chance of going home.

"So the first thing I want to discuss… you volunteered for your sister, Theodora? We are of course used to volunteers from District 2, but I noticed that no-one challenged you when you volunteered. Any reason for this? Normally there's an all out cat-fight in District 2 to become the female tribute!"

The Capitol laughed loudly. They loved the fierceness that District 2 always brought to the games.

"Well you see Caesar… obviously I was always going to volunteer anyway next year. But if a younger sibling is reaped, it's a mark of honour for the eldest eligible sibling in the family to volunteer. I want to uphold the Ryan honour. That's why I volunteered."

The crowd cheered for this determined young girl, and Andromeda smiled, pleased that her facade appeared to be working.

"So I'm assuming your parents are proud of you for volunteering?" Caesar asked.

"Oh yes. My father especially. He's always envisaged me entering the Hunger Games."

"That's great… so, any particular choice of weapon?" Caesar queried.

"I don't want to give away too much… but I love using kamas." Andromeda replied.

"Kamas?" Caesar said, raising an eyebrow. "An interesting choice. Not sure if we've seen many kamas in the games before."

"Well that's good. I'm sure you all love some originality." Andromeda said with a chuckle, as the crowd laughed with her.

"So we can expect to see you getting right into the action then? Some punters have you down as one of the weaker careers." Caesar said.

Andromeda did not react angrily as many expected, but instead spoke calmly. "Let the punters make their silly claims. I promise you I will do everything I can to win."

The buzzer went off at that moment as there was a roar of support for Andromeda. Many of the crowd had not been expecting her to be so strong.

"And now Ladies and Gentlemen… with the joint highest score of 10… Runyon…"

But Runyon had already walked onto the stage before Caesar could finish to roars from the crowd. He loved every minute of it, and threw his hands up dramatically to get the crowd going even more. He looked pretty spectacular in a dark blue suit which showed off all his muscles.

Once Runyon had finally sat down and the crowd had quietened, Caesar began the interview. "So Runyon, quite the show in your reaping! Who was that poor fellow?"

Runyon's eyes glistened at the memory. "Some chump named Huck. Dickhead was trying to steal my place. The 35th Hunger Games belong to me!"

"So we can expect the same level of brutality in the arena?' Caesar asked.

"Oh yes." Runyon replied, practically licking his lips in anticipation. "I'm going to rack up the highest kill count in the history of the Hunger Games."

Caesar raised an eyebrow. "Very self-assured. The highest kill count ever is seven, from the District 2 victor Elidia Kline in the 23rd Hunger Games. You really think you can top that?"

"Of course. The bloodbath is gonna be like nothing you've seen before."

"Well Runyon, you are our joint favourite this year…"

Runyon interrupted him. "Joint favourite?" He said with a snarl. "Who's the other favourite?"

Caesar looked surprised. "Well, Azalea from District 7 of course. She got a score of 10 in training, just like you did."

"She's not as good as me!" Runyon said angrily. "She's not even from a career district!"

"Let's move on…" Caesar said quickly, wanting to avoid unleashing the rage that was clearly building up inside Runyon. "So… as I'm sure you're aware, victors of the Hunger Games are often very popular amongst the ladies of the Capitol… are you a single man?"

Runyon grinned. "I'm afraid not ladies. I have a beautiful girlfriend named Gliese back in District 2. Although you're all still welcome to look!" He said as he turned to the crowd, giving the women in the front row a wink.

"One final question Runyon… we've been hearing of a nickname that you have back in District 2… Tiger eyes? Can you explain that to us?"

"I don't really know how it started." Runyon said with a grin, loving that it had been brought up. "But I get called it cos of my fierce eyes."

"They certainly do have some flame to them!" Caesar said dramatically.

"You haven't seen me come alive yet… just wait till the Hunger Games." Runyon said slowly, before standing up to face the crowd. "I will be VICTOR!" He yelled, the crowd screaming and clapping for him, loving the show he was putting on.

"And that's all we have time for tonight!" Caesar shouted as the buzzer went off. "Runyon Greenlaw everybody!"

It took some persuading to get Runyon to leave his screaming fans, but he eventually did, and up next was Bree.

"Time for our first non-career tribute everybody! Please welcome Bree Lloyd from District 3!"

Bree walked out onto the stage, wearing a long and elegant ballgown, with silver heels that she kept stumbling in slightly. Bree wasn't used to wearing such impractical shoes.

"So… Bree…" Caesar began as she sat down. She looked at him with attention. Bree had decided that the best strategy she could adopt for this interview was to appear smart and prepared, in order to show any sponsors that she had potential. "How are you doing?"

"Very well thanks Caesar." She replied. "Yourself?"

"I'm feeling fantastic thank you! How have you found the training?"

"It's been ok. Just been trying out a few different things." Bree said. Her and Orren had agreed not to reveal too much about their plans.

"I see you got a score of 6!" Caesar said. "Impressive for a District 3 tribute! Can you tell us your strengths?"

"Sorry Caesar, I'm keeping that to myself. To anyone out there who wishes to sponsor me though, I do have a hint. I'm handy with traps. And electricity. I would really appreciate it."

The crowd murmured in interest. "Such a polite young girl! And very intriguing too! I'm sure everyone is excited to see what you can do." Caesar moved on then. "Made friends with any tributes?"

"My district partner is lovely." Bree replied, smiling as she looked over at Orren. "We haven't really talked to many other tributes."

"Well it's always great to see district partners getting on well together!" Caesar remarked, and the crowd shouted in agreement.

"I'm glad you guys like it." Bree said simply.

"So what about life in District 3? Your family?"

"I have a wonderful Mother named Mariam." Bree said, a hint of sadness creeping onto her face as she though of her. But she knew she had to look strong in front of the Capitol, so she shook it off.

"And what about your love life? Anyone waiting for you back in District 3? Caesar said cheekily, and the crowd cheered for Bree to answer. The Capitol did love any gossip about the tributes.

Bree however, froze at this question. The only boy she had ever liked was Royce, and she couldn't admit that on national television! She looked around the audience, desperately searching for an answer.

"Bree…?" Caesar said quizzically. "Are you alright?"

Bree turned back around. "Yes… yes i'm fine!"

The buzzer went off then, and the crowd were left to wonder what was the matter with Bree, until Caesar announced the arrival of the next tribute.

Orren walked onto the stage with a broad grin on his face. wearing a classy looking sports coat with black dress pants. It was a rather unorthodox costume, but it suited his build well.

"So Orren, it's a pleasure to meet you! It appears as though you and Bree are getting on quite well?" Caesar asked.

"Yeah, she's a great girl to be allied with. I'm pretty lucky." Orren replied.

"I would say she's pretty lucky too… a very impressive score of 8 in training! How did you manage that?"

Orren saw no harm in being honest. The careers were already aware of them anyway. "I'm quite handy with throwing knives Caesar." Orren said, a cheeky smile on his face.

"And where have you gained that skill?" Caesar asked, pressing for details. "Non-career tributes aren't normally so handy with weapons!"

Orren hesitated then. Gambling in the districts was illegal. He couldn't start talking about all the hustling he did back home. "I've just always messed around with them. I have a target set up out the back of my Dad's bar."

"Oh, your Dad owns a bar, that's lovely!" Caesar said.

"Yeah it's a pretty nice place. Plenty of people who like a drink there though." He said.

"I'm sure there's many a Capitol citizen who can appreciate that!" Caesar exclaimed as the crowd roared with laughter. Orren laughed along, despite his dislike for drunks.

"So forgive me for stereotyping Orren… but you're not like the usual District 3 tribute." Caesar said in a teasing voice.

"I love that everyone has the perception that we're nerds in District 3." Orren said with a slight chuckle. "It think it's just coincidence that a lot of them have been reaped."

"Well I'm sure that everyone in the Capitol is pleased to see a strong tribute come out of District 3 for once." Caesar said, as the crowd nodded in agreement.

"Well I am glad that I can make the Capitol happy." Orren said half-sarcastically with a sparkle in his eye. The crowd didn't notice however, and roared at this, always loving hearing tributes speak well of the Capitol.

"Look at this! The boy's got some charm!" Caesar exclaimed. "I'm sure with charm like that you have a lovely girlfriend back home?"

Orren's eyes lit up. "Yeah I do. Jessa Harkon. It took me a while, but I convinced her to go out with me in the end."

The crowd chuckled loudly, as did Caesar. "And what does the future hold for you and Jessa, assuming you go home victor?"

Orren smiled. "Well to be honest, I've already asked Jessa's Father for her hand in marriage."

The crowd became very interested at this point. "Oh? And what happened?" Caesar queried.

"I'm not gonna start badmouthing the guy on national television." Orren said with a laugh. "Let's just say the main thing I remember is a bottle flying past my head as I ran out the room"

The crowd fell about laughing, and began cheering Orren as the buzzer went off. "Looks like we've run out of time! Orren Noults everybody!"

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**What do you all think of these tributes? Which was your favourite interview? Let me know! :)**


	24. Interviews Part 2

**200 reviews! Thanks so much guys... glad you're all enjoying the story!**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

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"Now for our next tribute everybody… Alissa Crestwood from District 4!"

Alissa bounced out onto the stage, wearing a pale blue semi sheer dress, waving to the crowd enthusiastically as they cheered and clapped for her before she sat down.

"Well hello Alissa… happy to be here by the looks of things?" Caesar asked, smiling.

"Oh yes Caesar! I've been waiting to enter the Hunger Games my whole life!"

"That's fantastic! So I assume you believe you have a chance of winning?"

"Of course." Alissa replied, looking confident. "You're gonna see a lot of action from me and my trident."

"That's assuming you get hold of one." Caesar said cheekily.

"Why wouldn't I get hold of one?" Alissa asked, rather hotly.

"Well Alissa… I'm afraid I must bring up that you got a 7 in training, the lowest out of the careers."

"They're just numbers." Alissa replied hurriedly. "Anyone who discounts me because of my score is a fool."

"Well we do love to hear such confidence!" Caesar said as the crowd cheered. "What do you think the arena will be like Alissa?"

"I don't know. We haven't had a water arena for a few years. That would be perfect for me." She said, her eyes gleaming.

"I'm going to assume that you have the usual District 4 talent of being a good swimmer then?" Caesar asked.

"Yeah, i'm a great swimmer!" Alissa said. "It would be game over for the others if it was a water based arena."

The crowd cheered at this, loving how outspoken she was. "Well I guess we'll just have to wait and see…" Caesar said.

"No hints from you then Caesar? I'm sure you've got some inside knowledge." Alissa said with a grin on her face.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Caesar laughed. "Trust me, I'm just as excited as you are."

"I doubt that very much." Alissa replied with a smile.

The crowd cheered loudly at this, and Caesar roared with laughter, loving her quick-wittedness. "My my, you sure are a cheeky one…" Caesar said, chuckling.

"I have been told that a few times." Alissa said, chuckling along.

"What about your family Alissa? Are they supportive?"

"Completely! My parents are so proud of me for entering, and can't wait to see me come home victor!

As the buzzer went off, Caesar turned to the crowd. "A very promising tribute! Alissa Crestwood everybody!"

Alissa curtsied before walking off to the stage, to be replaced by Salton. He was wearing a bottle green coloured suit, his entrance quieter than Alissa's, as he simply smiled and put his hand up to greet the crowd. The capitolites cheered loudly, enjoying the amount of great career tributes that had been interviewed so far. Now, they were hoping for another one.

"Salton Calder… tell us a bit about yourself!" Caesar said, smiling as Salton sat down.

Salton hadn't been looking forward to the interview. A quiet person inside, he worried about struggling to charm the crowd. But he had simply decided to come across as positive as possible. "Well.. I grew up in the District 4 community home. Never knew either of my parents."

"So how did you go about training to be a career?" Caesar queried.

"I used to sneak out of the home to go to the training centre. I want to get out of the hellhole I live in."

"By the words 'sneak out' I'm assuming that you weren't allowed to go to the training centre?"

"No, it was forbidden. But I wasn't going to let that stop me." Salton said, a fierce look in his dark green eyes.

"Well I do admire your dedication to the games!" Caesar said enthusiastically, and the crowd agreed with him. Salton had already won many fans, and nodded appreciatively as they cheered.

"With regards to the games, a very impressive score of 9 Mr Calder! What weapon will you be favouring this year?" Caesar asked.

"I'm lethal with a bow and arrow." Salton replied. He wasn't arrogant, just speaking the truth. "I can hit a bullseye from a mile off."

"Excellent news…" Caesar said happily. "And what about the career pack? Decent this year?"

Salton paused as he looked down at the front row where most of the careers were sitting. He didn't like many in the pack, but perhaps now wasn't the best time to share those feelings. "It's good." He replied. "There's a few big personalities, but I think we'll all work well together."

"And what about the other tributes? Anyone in particular catch your eye?"

Salton paused again, contemplating his thoughts. "I think that the two from District 3 will be ones to watch… that Mimi girl from District 5 is pretty good as well."

"Very interesting. There appears to be a lot of strong tributes this year!"

"I agree."

Caesar smiled. "So what about women Salton… anyone waiting back at the community home for you?"

"No." He replied, rather bluntly.

"I'm sure you can appreciate the good looking crop of tributes this year though can't you? Caesar asked, his eyes gleaming.

Salton looked at Caesar with hate for one second. He thought it was cruel, talking about the tributes this way before most of them were sent to their deaths. But still, he replied with positivity. "Yes… a lot of attractive men… and women." He said, looking at Andromeda sitting in the front row as he said this.

"Men and women? Didn't know you were bisexual Salton…" Caesar said, as the crowd waited in anticipation for his answer, always loving gossip about the tributes' personal life.

"Yes. I didn't think it was relevant." Salton replied, his eyes flaring up slightly.

"Of course… mere curiosity for one of our beloved tributes." Caesar said, trying to keep Salton from getting annoyed. Salton didn't respond, wanting the interview to end now.

"One final question before we let you go… do you believe you have a chance of winning?"

"Yes, yes I do." Salton replied without hesitation. "I've suffered many hardships in my life. And I'm going to make up for that by coming home as victor."

The buzzer went off then, and the crowd cheered loudly as Salton left the stage. Mimi walked onto the stage next, feeling like a lot of attention was on her, partly due to Salton's comments, but also partly because she looked better than she had ever done before in her life, wearing a tight red dress which showed off her figure fantastically.

"Hello Mimi… it's a pleasure to meet you!" Caesar said, smiling.

"You too Caesar."

"And may I just say that that is a beautiful dress!" Caesar said, admiring it once again.

"Thank you." Mimi said, as the crowd cheered in agreement. "It's definitely more fancy than anything I've ever worn before…"

"Bit of a rough upbringing in District 5?" Caesar asked, looking concerned.

"Yes…" Mimi said, pausing. She couldn't mention the hunting. "Me and my brother Tom always struggled to get by. But we managed."

"That's good to hear." Caesar said with a smile. "Mimi… our friend Mr Calder had good things to say about you. Care to give us any insight as to why you were mentioned amongst his favourites?"

Mimi looked slightly nervous. "Well I guess I'm good with a bow and arrow too…"

"Ah yes!" Caesar exclaimed. "Your training score was a 7, pretty good! Maybe Salton sees you as a threat?"

"Yeah, maybe…" Mimi said half confidently, avoiding the boy's piercing gaze from the front row.

"So with your score of 7 you may be a contender! Any strategy for the arena?"

Mimi tried to regain her confidence. "Well I do have plans. You'll see tomorrow I guess…"

"Any alliances?" Caesar asked, probing for more details.

Mimi didn't see any harm in people knowing. "Yes, actually. I've made an alliance with my District partner Murray…"

"Ah yes, rather dashing looking young fellow!" Caesar interrupted. "I'm sure you've taken quite the fancy to him?" He said with a wink at Mimi.

Mimi blushed. "Not like that…" She said with slight irritation. "But I think he'll be a good person to be with in the arena. Anyway, there's other members of our alliance."

"Please go on." Caesar said, knowing that the crowd would be keen to hear more.

"Well we're also with the District 7 boy, Nash. And Morris and Karina from District 10."

"A rather varied group of tributes." Caesar said. "Any particular reason you all got together?"

Mimi paused as she considered this question. She didn't really know why they had approached the people they were allied with. "Me and Murray just decided to speak to the people who we thought seem loyal… we thought that it would be important to have a group of people you could rely on in the the games.

The crowd cheered at this, but one person was not impressed. President Neal sat tight lipped in a chair on a balcony overlooking the stage. The Hunger Games were not supposed to unite the districts. He would have to make sure that this alliance wasn't allowed to become too strong

The crowd screamed loudly for Mimi as her interview ended, loving her for her attitude and her looks. Murray, waiting backstage, felt pleased for her. But he knew he would now have to work hard to get an even better reaction from the audience.

As Caesar announced his entrance, Murray swaggered onto the stage, wearing a pale pink suit. He looked gorgeous, with his golden hair swept back, and the boy already had many fangirls, who were screaming their adoration for him as he sat down to begin his interview.

"Murray… quite the reaction from the crowd!" Caesar said excitedly.

"Thank you." Murray said with a smirk. He was loving the attention.

"Could we please have a little quiet!" Caesar laughed, as fangirls in the front rows continued screaming for the District 5 boy.

"Ah c'mon Caesar, let them have their fun!" Murray said with a laugh.

"Aha! I thought you might be a bit of a ladies man." Caesar said, laughing along with him. "No-one you're committed to back at home then?"

Murray paused for a second as he thought of Scarlette. "There is a girl i've got my eye on back in District 5. But I'm open to meeting some beautiful Capitol girls." He said with a grin, making the capitolite teenagers scream even louder for him.

"What a cheeky young man!" Caesar said, and the crowd agreed, laughing at his comments. "So tell us more about life back in District 5."

"Well… I'm from a rather privileged background, relatively anyway." Murray replied. "I attend the District 5 special talents academy."

"Very impressive!" Caesar said, looking interested. "And what is your talent?"

"I'm developing my soccer skills there."

"And are you any good?"

Murray grinned. "I'm sure I could give you capitolites a run for your money. If this was a soccer match between the tributes, I'd be the one going home alive."

The crowd laughed loudly at this, loving the humorous young man. "Quite the joker too!" Caesar said as he laughed along. "Speaking of coming home alive, do you believe you can do so Murray?"

"I don't see why not." Murray replied with the smirk on his face yet again. "I can use a weapon, and hopefully i'll attract some sponsors." He said with a wink to the crowd.

"Ah yes, a decent score of 6! Which weapon will you be using?"

"A sword. I dabbled with a bit of fencing at the special talents academy." Murray said.

"Very good!" Caesar exclaimed. "And I'm sure the alliance you're involved in will help your chances?"

"I'm sure it will. We're a strong group of people, and it'll be good to have someone watching your back."

"Exactly." Caesar, said as the buzzer went off. "There we have it folks! Murray Greene!" He shouted, as the capitolite girls began screaming for Murray once again before he went off the stage.

"District 6 next everyone! Please welcome Medusa Krinvox!"

Medusa walked onto the stage, looking older than her fourteen years with a flowing red ball gown on. The capitolites cheered loudly for her, remembering the tough looking girl from her reapings.

"Hello Medusa, it's a pleasure to meet you!" Caesar greeted her.

"You too." Medusa replied.

"So Medusa… quite the chaotic scene at the reapings! All those fireworks! What did you think of that?" Caesar asked.

A small smile creeped onto her face at the memory. She loved that no-one knew that the culprit was sitting right before their eyes. "It was pretty funny." She replied. "Whoever did that was pretty brave…"

"Brave, or pretty stupid!" Caesar said, as he laughed. "I wouldn't want to be that person when the peacekeepers find them!" Medusa simply smiled, not offering a reply.

"So Medusa… you didn't seem too bothered when your name was called out at the reapings?" Caesar asked.

"I don't see why I would be." Medusa said calmly. "It's just life isn't it? You've got to accept it."

"I would just have thought that, considering you're only fourteen…"

But Medusa cut him off. "I don't see why that's relevant. I'm still just as capable of killing as any of the older tributes."

Some of the crowd cheered this, although many were unsure about this girl. "Of course!" Caesar replied with a smile.

"Can you please just ask me something actually relevant to the games?" Medusa said, staring at Caesar with her piercing green eyes.

Many of the capitolites were now visibly creeped out by this girl, but the host brushed it off, laughing as he patted her on the shoulder. "Wow, a fierce attitude! I just love that!" Medusa did not look impressed.

"Anyway… what are your plans for the arena?" Caesar asked.

Medusa was keener to answer now. "Well, as you may or may not be aware, I'm part of the career pack."

"Very nice!" Caesar said, looking impressed. "You must have displayed excellent skills if they let you join them! I see you got a 7 in training."

"Yes. I feel like I could've done better though."

"Nonsense!" Caesar exclaimed. "A 7 is brilliant for a fourteen year old, especially a non-career one! What's your weapon of choice?"

"A katana. I hope the gamemakers include one in the cornucopia if they want to see a good show." Medusa replied, looking up at the Head Gamemaker Criswell sitting in his booth.

"Now now Medusa! I'm sure the gamemakers will include whatever they think is necessary… they know what they're doing!" Caesar said, trying to laugh off the girl's rather defiant stare at Criswell.

"Let's hope so." Medusa replied, as the buzzer went off. Caesar was actually rather relieved to end this interview, the girl had been quite difficult. But he knew he may have another challenge up next.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Please welcome Bryce Lichen!"

Bryce walked onto the stage, feeling strange with a smart black suit on, and a dark blue tie that matched his eyes. The crowd clapped for him, although the reaction wasn't as enthusiastic as it had been with some tributes. The audience were aware of his status as a young offender.

"Welcome Bryce!" Caesar greeted him, never one for pre-judgements. "It's great to meet you."

"It's great to meet you too Caesar!" Bryce said enthusiastically. He was trying to be as likeable as possible, hoping to dispel capitolites' opinions of him being a lowlife criminal.

"So you're a volunteer!" Caesar said, a smile on his face. "Always great to see volunteers from non-career districts!"

"Thanks." Bryce replied, grinning. "I just thought, why not?"

"So, any particular reason you decided to enter?"

"Well…" Bryce paused. "As I'm sure you're all aware, I was a prisoner, and I was about to move to the adult jail. I saw it as a chance of escaping that."

"But why? Surely you'd have been out in a few years anyway at the most anyway?" Caesar asked, searching for more information.

"No…" Bryce replied, feeling annoyed that this had been brought up. He knew it was inevitable, but he wished they'd at least talked to him about the games first. "I was actually on a life sentence."

"For what?" Caesar asked.

"I'm pretty sure you know." Bryce answered quietly, feeling more annoyed now.

"My dear boy… I'm sorry, but I actually don't…"

"I was arrested for supposedly killing my Brother and Father." Bryce said, with his teeth clenched, as the crowd gasped in surprise. This was one part of information about Bryce that the Capitol had kept to themselves until now, wanting to keep it as a surprise revelation for the interviews.

"Supposedly?" Caesar asked, his eyebrows raised.

"It wasn't me! I'm not guilty." Bryce replied, his voice rising.

"You were found guilty by a Capitol judge…" Caesar said.

"Murderer!" A cry came from the audience. Several others followed suit.

Bryce stood up, furious now. "What do you lot know about it? You disgusting people! You don't even know what it's like for us in District 6!" He shouted. "What it's been like for me, to have been a prisoner for the last two years for a crime I didn't commit!"

"Ok Mr Lichen, let's calm down now." Caesar said, trying to get the interview going again.

Bryce breathed deeply, and managed to compose himself enough to sit down again.

"About your training score… a decent 6 Bryce! Any strategies for the arena?"

"Not particularly." Bryce replied. "I'm going it alone though."

"Any reason for that?" Caesar queried.

"I don't trust anyone. The only person you can trust is yourself." Bryce replied, a fierce look on his face.

The interview ended then, and Bryce walked off the stage quickly, not receiving a very positive response from the crowd. Caesar spoke enthusiastically to the crowd, trying to get them animated again.

"We're now going to take a short break everybody, so stay tuned and we'll be back soon! Plenty more exciting tributes coming up!"

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**Any particular tributes that you liked from this chapter after getting to know them a bit better? Let me know :)**


	25. Interviews Part 3

**Hey everyone! Only one more chapter of interviews after this, and then it's the bloodbath! Hope you're excited.**

**Hope you all enjoy this chapter, and thanks for reading and reviewing!**

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"Welcome back Ladies and Gentlemen, to the interviews for the 35th Hunger Games!"

The crowd roared as Caesar announced the next tribute to come out, Azalea Tigris. Wearing a short and sparkly midnight blue dress with heels in the same colour, she was met with a great welcome by the Capitol, largely due to her father, Gerald Tigris. He was without a doubt one of the more well-known victors.

"Welcome Azalea!" Caesar said with a broad smile as she sat down. "It's great to finally meet you."

"You too Caesar." Azalea replied. "It's great to be here."

"As soon as you volunteered, I knew who you were straight away… of course, your Father has spoken highly of you when I have met him."

"I would hope that he has. I can't wait to get into the arena." Azalea said, excitement rising in her voice.

"I'll bet! And you're our joint favourite this year… very impressive score of ten! How did you manage that?"

"Favourite. I am the favourite." Azalea said, smiling. "Sorry Caesar, just had to correct you there."

Caesar simply laughed. "And now we hear from the other side of the argument…as i'm sure you're aware, Runyon has also claimed that he is the favourite."

"Are you really going to listen to what that meathead has to say?" Azalea laughed. "I'm not going to say anything else, but the real favourite will be discovered in the arena."

As the crowd cheered these outspoken comments, Runyon was positively shaking with rage. He glared at Azalea as she continued laughing along with Caesar, trying to contain his anger.

It was at that point that everyone became aware that a showdown between these two in the games was inevitable.

"So… I'm not even going to ask whether you believe you can win the Hunger Games." Caesar laughed.

Azalea smiled. "Oh I'll win Caesar. And the Tigris name will go down in Hunger Games history."

"You seem to really believe the games are a great thing?" Caesar asked.

"Of course. Who wouldn't want a chance at escaping the poverty in the districts, and becoming rich and loved by the Capitol?"

"Well you certainly have the right attitude." Caesar replied with a smile.

"Thank you. I hope I can be the kind of victor you want."

"On the topic of family…" Caesar said, before pausing briefly. "Your sister Ebony, I believe? She also came on with talk of being victor…."

"She was weak." Azalea said, her eyes flaring up slightly as she tried to block out the memory of her dead sister. "I will not make the same mistakes that she did."

"Well we're all delighted to hear that." Caesar replied, as the buzzer went off. "Azalea Tigris everybody!"

The crowd chanted Azalea's name as she left the stage, to be replaced by Nash. He walked onto the stage wearing a black suit that fitted his build well, with a black undershirt and a striking green tie.

"Hello Nash!" Caesar greeted him.

"Hello." Nash replied, looking rather calm.

"How are you doing Nash? Enjoying the Capitol?"

"It's alright. I like the food." Nash hated the capitolites, but he was smart enough to know not to show that now.

"I'm sure it's better than District 7 food!" Caesar said with a laugh. "So Nash, we hear from Mimi that you're in a rather big alliance?"

"Yes I am." Nash replied. "There's five of us, and I agree with Mimi that we're brought together by loyalty and trust."

"Very admirable." Caesar said, and the crowd agreed, enjoying the display of fraternity between tributes. "Does this alliance have any particular strategy for the arena?"

"You'll just have to wait and see." Nash said, his expression not giving away a thing.

"Not even a hint?" Caesar teased.

"All will be revealed." Nash replied, grinning slightly.

Caesar realised he wasn't getting anything out of the boy on this matter, and moved on. "About your training score Nash… I'm afraid to say it was one of the lowest. Care to talk us through what happened?"

"Not particularly." Nash replied, rather bluntly. "I used my best weapon, and the gamemakers clearly weren't impressed."

"So what do you believe your strengths are for the games then Nash?"

Nash paused for a second. "I'm very observant. I have an analytical mind, which I will employ in the arena."

Some of the crowd laughed, unsure what to make of this mysterious boy. As usual though, Caesar responded positively. "That's great. I'm sure it'll come of use."

"I hope so." Nash said.

"So what about life back in District 7 Nash? Your family?"

"I have a great family." Nash replied, feeling sad as he though of them. "My Father Aspen, and my sister Laurel… she's fantastic. And my Mother…" Nash stopped as he faltered on his words.

"Yes Nash? Your Mother?" Caesar queried, awaiting an answer.

"I'm sorry. I can't." Nash said, his head down.

"Is there something wrong Nash? Is your Mother ok?

He took a deep breath. "She has cancer. It's terminal."

The crowd gasped, as Caesar looked at the boy in shock. "I'm so sorry Nash. We here all wish the very best for your Mother, and…"

Nash stood up, angry now. "What? Don't pretend you care! If you did I wouldn't be here in the first place!"

"My dear boy, I…" Caesar began, but Nash cut him off again.

"This interview is over." He said fiercely, as he walked off the stage. The crowd were left murmuring, shocked at Nash speaking that way to their beloved Caesar.

The host, however, recovered quickly. "Now folks… our next tribute!" He announced, the smile back on his face again. "Please welcome Audrey Manzel from District 8!"

Audrey walked onto the stage, looking fantastic in a long sapphire blue gown that was one-shouldered. She waved to the crowd, smiling as they cheered her arrival.

"You look lovely Audrey!" Caesar said happily as she sat down.

"Thank you." Audrey replied, her eyes sparkling. She was feeling a bit nervous, but was going to make every effort to come across as positive as possible.

"First things first… your reaping was rather dramatic! Care to talk us through it?"

Audrey hesitated for a second as she though of her sister, but then smiled again. "Well Caesar, as you saw, I got reaped. And then my older sister Idina tried to volunteer for me…"

"And why didn't you let her?" Caesar asked, becoming very interested now.

"Because I didn't want her to enter the games." Audrey replied, looking at Caesar as if he was stupid. "I didn't want her to die."

"But Audrey… the thing I will say is that your sister is seventeen, right? So perhaps she would've stood a better chance than you?"

Audrey looked slightly offended. "My sister may be older, but I couldn't let her volunteer. I couldn't have lived with myself if she died." She said, her expression become sad now.

"I understand Audrey." Caesar replied.

"I love my sister more than anything!" Audrey said fiercely.

"Of course my dear…" Caesar said, as the crowd cheered their admiration for this strong girl.

"By the way…" Audrey said. "Don't discount me because I'm only fourteen. I've got some tricks up my sleeve."

Caesar looked excited. "And are you going to let us on on these tricks? I see you got a five in training, not bad!"

Audrey laughed. "C'mon Caesar! I'm not going to give anything away… where would be the fun in that?"

"That's fair enough!" Caesar said, laughing along. "Made any friends? What's your district partner like?"

"He's lovely." Audrey said, smiling as she looked at Teddy offstage. "We've really gotten on well."

"So you'll be sticking together in the arena?"

"Yes, definitely. Vern from District 11 is joining us too."

"Still most of an alliance to meet yet! How exciting is that folks?" Caesar exclaimed as he turned to look at the crowd. They cheered in response, enjoying that fact that the interviews were still exciting. Many capitolites held the opinion that once the interviews got to District 8 they usually became rather boring.

"Time's almost up… got any interesting facts about yourself Audrey? I'm sure you do!"

Audrey looked slightly taken aback before responding. "I do actually… I have congenital insensitivity to pain."

"Oh? Could you explain that for the capitolites who aren't exactly aware of what it is? I include myself in that category!" Caesar chuckled.

"It's pretty self-explanatory." Audrey replied, a bit bored about having to talk about her condition again. "I can't feel pain, however I can feel mild temperatures and other similar feelings."

"So would you feel it if someone stuck a knife through your side?" Caesar laughed, as if being stabbed was some sort of joke.

"I don't know. Hopefully I won't have to find out." Audrey said rather stoically as the buzzer went off. The crowd cheered Audrey loudly as she left the stage, liking the girl's resilience.

Teddy was next, and he was a nervous wreck to say the least. He felt silly in his bright gold tuxedo, and was becoming panicky as the thought of walking out onto the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Please welcome Teddy Garland from District 8!"

Teddy forced himself onto the stage. The crowd applauded him, but the reaction wasn't as good as it had been with other tributes, largely due to the fact that Teddy was visibly shaking from nerves.

As he sat down, Caesar greeted him warmly. "Welcome Teddy! Don't worry, we won't bite!" He laughed.

"H-hi Caesar." Teddy replied,

"How are you doing Teddy? Enjoying the Capitol?" Caesar asked.

"Urm… y-yeah it's g-good." He said nervously.

"Teddy! You really don't need to be so shy! We're all friends here!" Caesar said with a beaming smile.

_Friends that are going to watch me die. _Teddy thought to himself. "I am n-nervous anyway Caesar, b-but it's m-made worse c-cos of my s-s-stutter."

The crowd awed collectively as this timid boy, many thinking of him as very cute.

"That's ok Teddy! No-one here is going to judge you!" Caesar said, patting him on the shoulder. The crowd cheered as he did so, showing their support.

Teddy smiled at this, feeling more reassured. "T-Thank you."

"You're very welcome! Now let's get the interview started." Caesar said with a smile as he looked at his notes. "Judging by what Audrey said you two seem to have become good friends?"

"Y-Yes Caesar." Teddy replied. "She's b-been great to m-me."

"That's so great. What would you say are your strengths for the arena Teddy?"

Teddy began shaking again, not enjoying being put on the spot. "Urm… I-I don't r-really have any."

"Oh c'mon Teddy, everyone's got some skill! I'm sure you do too."

Then Teddy suddenly thought of something. "Actually… I h-have a photographic m-memory."

"Wow!" Caesar exclaimed. That's very impressive…. you must have everything about the tributes memorised in your head, crystal clear!"

"Erm… that's n-not really h-how it works…" Teddy began.

But Caesar had already moved on. "What about life in District 8 Teddy? Any sweet girl waiting for you to return?"

Teddy looked at the ground. "Er… w-well there is C-Carson…" He began before stopping abruptly. _Oh no. What he had just said?!_

"Carson? Strange name for a girl…" Caesar said, raising an eyebrow.

"W-Well… w-what I meant w-was…" Teddy began panicking, stammering even more so than usual.

"It's ok Teddy. Who is this Carson?"

Teddy sighed. He was going to die anyway. At least Carson would know now. "There's no g-girl waiting for m-me." He hesitated for a few seconds. I'm g-gay… and there's t-this boy called C-Carson that I've l-loved for a long t-time…"

The crowd awed, their affection for this sweet boy increasing by the second. "That's so lovely. So he doesn't know?" Caesar asked.

"No-o-one knows. No-one e-even knows I'm g-gay. A-Audrey is the o-only person I've ever t-told…"

"This is fantastic." Caesar said. "Such an amazing display of trust between these two District partners." And the crowd cheered, many chanting for District 8 now.

As the buzzer went off, Caesar turned to address the crowd. "Ladies and Gentlemen, give it up for Teddy Garland!"

The crowd screamed and clapped loudly as Teddy left the stage, leaving the boy utterly confused about his emotions.

"Next up… please welcome Fenella Reed from District 9!"

As Fenella walked onto the stage, it was clear that she was not to happy to be here. She wore a short black halterneck dress with black rose buds tied in her blonde hair, and as she approached Caesar did not offer him a smile.

"Hello there Fenella! It's a pleasure to meet you!" Caesar greeted her.

"Hello." Fenella responded bluntly.

"Where's that smile?" Caesar laughed.

"There's not much to smile about is there?" Fenella replied, as she fiddled with something in her hand.

Caesar noticed this. "Forgive me for being intrusive… I was just wondering what that was in your hand?"

Fenella scowled slightly. "It's my sister's charm bracelet. She gave it to me as my district token."

"That's so adorable." Caesar said.

"She is. And now she's on her own. She's 12 years old." Fenella said, her cold green eyes staring fiercely at the host.

"She's not on her own yet! You can still make it home to your sister…"

"Her name is Skye." Fenella growled.

"I'm sorry!" Caesar said quickly, actually looking rather sincere. "Anyway Fenella… let's talk Hunger Games! There's a lot of alliances this year it would seem… I haven't heard your name crop up yet though?"

"I'm going it alone, that's why." Fenella replied.

"Any particular reason?"

"These guys are fools for making alliances. The Hunger Games aren't for making friends. Only one of us comes out, and I'm not going to be the mug that gets stabbed in the back by their so called 'ally' once it gets to the final stages." Fenella said, rather matter-of-factly.

"So who isn't a 'fool' in these games then as you put it?" Caesar laughed, as many tributes began looking at their new allies uncomfortably.

Fenella considered this. "Bryce. That guy knows what he's doing."

"We'll keep that in mind." Caesar said with a smile. "And how do you rate your chances in the arena Fenella?"

"I can't say for sure. I'll know once I'm in the arena. But don't rule me out." She replied, with enough conviction to convince the crowd, who cheered for her as her interview finished.

"And now, please welcome our other District 9 tribute… Patrick Ackerman!"

Paddy walked onto the stage, wearing a burgundy suit with a black tie. His mentor had told him to come across as cute, but he wasn't exactly sure how to do that.

"Welcome Patrick! How are you finding the capitol?" Caesar asked as Paddy sat down.

"My name's actually Paddy." He replied rather cheekily.

Caesar gave a fake gasp of horror. "I am sorry my dear boy!" He said with a smile. "Paddy, how are you finding the Capitol?"

"It's great." Paddy said, grinning. "I love the food."

"Ah yes, Capitol food is rather delectable…" Caesar smiled. "Although Paddy… I have heard from your escort that you may like the food a bit too much?"

Paddy's cheeks flushed slightly as he remembered the train incident. "Just fancied a little midnight feast you know?" He replied, a slight grin creeping onto his face.

Caesar laughed, and the crowd laughed along, slightly confused, as they weren't aware of exactly what the host was referring to.

"So Paddy… what's your plan for the arena? Any particular strategy?"

"Very nosey Caesar." Paddy replied, the cheeky smile on his face again. "You'll have to see."

"Any alliances…?"

"District 12. They've been good to me. Especially Natasha." Paddy said, as he smiled at Natasha offstage.

"Yet another new alliance… should really make for a fantastic games this year!" Caesar exclaimed

"Yeah I reckon so. A few strong tributes…"

"Oh we always love to hear opinions on other tributes. Who's caught your eye?" Caesar asked with a wink.

Paddy had a few names in mind. "That Runyon guy from District 2… well all the careers really." He muttered.

"And what about you Paddy? Anything that you think might put you at an advantage over the other tributes?"

Paddy paused as he considered this. "Well I'm nimble and agile…"

"Should help in the bloodbath!" Caesar said with a smile.

"Hopefully…" Paddy replied, as the buzzer went off.

"Thank you very much Paddy! And now for our next tribute…"

* * *

**Opinions on these tributes? Any favourite interviews? Let me know :)**


	26. Interviews Part 4

**Hey guys, final interviews chapter! The next chapter is the bloodbath, and I'm so excited to get it uploaded.**

**I have a new poll up on my profile by the way, asking who your early prediction is for victor. So would really appreciate it if anyone voted!**

The poll will have no effect on who becomes victor, I decided who the victor was going to be before I even started writing the train ride chapters. It's just because I'm interested in people's opinions.

Hope you enjoy this chapter, and thanks for reading and reviewing!

* * *

The interviews were almost over, and many capitolites were becoming restless as they reached the outlier districts. Despite this, there was heightened interest this year, due to some strong tributes being reaped, which was uncommon of these districts.

"Ladies and gentleman, please welcome Karina Carr!"

Karina walked onto the stage, using her walking stick to ensure a smooth entrance, despite the fact that she now had a prosthetic leg. Despite not being able to see how she looked, she felt better than she ever had done before, wearing a pale green sparkly dress with green flat shoes. The crowd cheered the girl, some actually feeling sorry for her, quite unlike the normal capitolite attitude.

As she sat down, Caesar greeted her warmly. "Hello Karina! How are you doing this evening?"

"Hi Caesar. I'm good thanks, how are you?" She replied.

"I'm feeling fantastic. First I must start by bringing up your impressive training score of 5! Impressive… especially considering your condition, if you don't mind me referring to it that way." Caesar said with a smile.

Karina smiled back. "It's ok Caesar. And I was very shocked by my score of 5."

"Any hints as to how you got that score?" Caesar asked with a wink.

Karina looked innocent. "I wish I could… but I want to save it as a surprise."

"Fair enough." Caesar said. "By the way… I must say that your prosthetic leg is great! Isn't it fantastic how the Capitol provided that for you?"

_Oh yes, how nice of them. _Karina thought sarcastically. But she smiled at Caesar. "Yes, I'm so grateful. It's so nice to be able to walk properly." The girl really wanted to get some sponsors.

"How did you lose your leg?" Caesar asked.

Karina shifted in her seat uncomfortably, not enjoying the memory being brought up. "A runaway cow trampled over my leg when I was eight. It became infected and…" She looked at the ground, tearing up slightly.

"I'm so sorry Karina!" Caesar said, reaching out to put a hand on her shoulder. "We love this girl don't we?" He shouted as he turned to the crowd. They cheered in response, and Karina felt a bit more comforted.

"Karina, when we watched the chariot ride, it seemed like you were getting on very well with your district partner Morris, and now you're both in an alliance of 5! How did you manage to make friends so well?"

"I was just myself really." Karina replied. "I just try to be friendly to everyone, and hope that they'll be the same towards me."

The crowd awed collectively at the sweet girl, with Caesar giving her a big smile. "You sure are a lovely girl Karina… one final question…. do you believe you can win?"

Karina thought it almost cruel of him to ask that question. "I don't know right now Caesar. But I'll give it my best shot."

The crowd cheered the brave young girl as the buzzer went off, and Karina left the stage, to be replaced by Morris, who was looking smart in black trousers with a white shirt, accompanied by a bow tie. It was a rather simple style, but it suited the young boy well.

"Welcome Morris! A pleasure to meet you!" Caesar greeted him.

"It's great to meet you too Caesar." Morris replied, smiling warmly.

"Morris… I must say that I was very impressed with you volunteering. Very rare that we see a District 10 volunteer. What motivated you to do it?"

Morris sighed as he remembered the reaping. "My friend… Jerold. He was reaped as you saw, and I couldn't let him go into the games… he wouldn't have stood a chance." He said grimly.

"So you think you may stand a better chance?" Caesar asked.

Morris hesitated, never having really thought of it. "I reckon so…. I've got some skills."

"Oh? What are these skills?" Caesar asked inquisitively.

"I'm learnt quite a bit about survival… should come in handy."

"That's great." Caesar smiled. "What about when it comes down to a fight?"

Morris hesitated again. "It's not my best area… but I think I could handle a weapon. I've got some strength behind me." He laughed, gesturing to his belly.

Caesar laughed along. "Very funny… So how about life back in District 10? I hear you have a pretty interesting job…"

"Yes Caesar." Morris replied. "I'm the official Capitol food taster representative for District 10. I taste new Capitol products that come through to make sure that they're adequate for capitolite standards."

"And a fine job you do as well!" Caesar exclaimed. "Always excellent food… the treat of eating Capitol food before the games can't have been as exciting for you then?"

"I guess not." Morris smiled. "But I've still enjoyed my stay here."

"I'm sure you have!" Caesar replied. "So… I gather you're the last member of this alliance of five that we've heard about?"

"Yes I am. I'm very happy to be in such a great group… if there was one thing I wanted to do before the games, it was to find some allies."

"Well I'm very glad that you have." Caesar said. "One question though… if your alliance does succeed, and it comes down to the final eight, what's going to happen? Are you going to split up?"

"We haven't thought that far ahead yet. We're just going to take it as it comes." Morris replied, a serious expression on his face. "I'm well aware that the games can change people. So I couldn't tell you what could happen at the final eight stage."

"Very wise." Caesar remarked with a nod, as the crowd applauded Morris. "Well I'm sure many capitolites will be behind you."

"I hope so." Morris said.

"Time's up now I'm afraid! Morris wayward everybody!" Caesar shouted at the crowd, with Morris waving as he walked off the stage.

Backstage, Lily was being difficult. She was refusing to go out onto the stage, and her mentor Miles was desperately trying to reason with her.

"C'mon Lily! You have to go out there. It's the rules!" Miles said angrily.

Lily remained defiant. "As I've stated before, I'm not playing any part in the Capitol's game. The interviews are pathetic."

"I know they're stupid, ok? But with an attitude like this you're never going to be victor!" Miles said, his frustration with this stubborn girl rising by the minute.

"I don't need you telling me how to be victor." Lily replied fiercely.

"Don't you want to make it home to Willow and Pine?" Miles asked, becoming desperate now.

Lily glared at him. "Don't you dare mention their names!" She hissed before storming out onto the stage, catching Caesar by surprise, who hadn't announced her entrance yet.

"Wow! Someone's keen for her interview! Welcome Lily!" Caesar smiled at her.

Lily didn't respond, simply staring at Caesar with her arms crossed as she sat down.

"So how are you enjoying the Capitol?" Caesar asked, trying again. But he was met with the same response of silence.

"Your dress looks lovely." Caesar remarked, looking at the short black dress she was wearing, but even the host was becoming a bit stuck now, with the crowd murmuring in discontent at this rebellious tribute. How dare she not answer Caesar?

"So not going to answer any questions eh…?" Caesar said, leaning back in his chair. "Not a fan of the Capitol then?"

Lily finally spoke. "The Capitol is disgusting."

"Excuse me?" Caesar asked in shock, as the crowd gasped in horror.

Lily turned to address them. "Look at you all! You're horrific people… you send kids to their deaths, you freaks!"

"That's quite enough Lily." Caesar said, his normally happy expression slightly darker now.

"It's not enough Caesar!" She said fiercely. "How can you all sit here, ruining people's lives? My parents are dead because of you, and now my brother and sister are all on their own because of the Capitol as well! You're all scum, you hear me? SCUM!"

Many of the crowd were screaming for her head now, and peacekeepers struggled to control some capitolites who were trying to get up onto the stage. Another couple of peacekeepers then came onto the stage to restrain Lily, dragging her backstage.

"Burn in hell Capitol!" She screamed, spitting on the floor as she was finally dragged off the stage fully.

It took some time, but the crowd were finally calmed down enough for the interviews to resume. Vern wasn't feeling too good backstage, Lily hadn't exactly made things easy for him. Although at least he definitely couldn't have a worse interview than hers.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Vern Tillier from District 11!"

Vern walked out onto the stage, wearing a brightly coloured yellow suit, and trying to look confident as he made his way over to his seat.

"Hello there Vern! What a fantastic suit!" Caesar said excitedly.

"Thanks Caesar…" Vern replied, trying to look enthusiastic, but then he looked at the crowd, and faltered. He couldn't find words.

"Everything alright Vern?" Caesar asked, looking puzzled.

"Yes… yes… fine!" Vern said quickly, not looking at Caesar.

Caesar realised that the boy was very shy, and tried to go for a less full-on approach. "Glad to hear it Vern." He said, offering him a smile. "So I hear you're in an alliance with District 8? You must be feeling pretty happy about that?"

"Yes.. yes I am. They're nice people." Vern replied, still not looking straight at Caesar.

"Any particular strategy that you're going to employ?"

"Maybe… erm…. you'll have to wait and see." Vern said, trying to seem mysterious like some of the other tributes had been. Many capitolites, however, could see right through him.

"We look forward to that." Caesar smiled. "It must be good for District 8 as well, to have an eighteen year old on their side! Especially since you scored a 6, not bad!"

"Thanks." Vern replied shyly.

"Any particular weapon you're fond of?"

"Well… I've been learning how to use a double ended dagger." Vern said.

"Very good! Always great to see a tribute from the outliers with some weapon skills!" Caesar said happily, and the crowd applauded Vern, although many were unsure of him due to his shyness.

"Good." Vern simply said, offering a nervous smile to Caesar.

"So will we see you entering the fray in the games? Will you be a bloodbath participant?"

Vern looked fairly terrified at the mention of the word 'bloodbath'. "I don't know… I think I was hoping to stay in the background more…"

The audience did not look impressed at this, and Caesar tried to recover the situation. "But Vern…. the Capitol do love someone who gets into the action…" He said with a wink.

Vern realised his mistake, and began blabbering quickly. "Well… what I mean is… I will be in the bloodbath… but…."

"It's ok Vern!" Caesar said with a hand on Vern's shoulder, trying to calm him down.

_No, no, I'm coming across as weak!_ Vern thought in panic, but he had no time to salvage the interview as the buzzer went off.

"I'm afraid that's all we have time for! Vern Tillier everybody!"

Vern walked off the stage, looking miserable, as Caesar began to make his next announcement.

"Now, for our final two tributes, President Neal has requested that we do their interviews in a slightly unorthodox manner. As many of you are aware, the two District 12 tributes this year are adopted twins, so it had been decided that they will have their interviews together. Just to shake things up a little." Caesar winked, as the crowd cheered and clapped.

"Please welcome Natasha Trent and Alex Trent!"

The two walked onto the stage together, Natasha wearing a red and blue striped short dress, with Alex sporting a matching red and blue pinstriped suit. Caesar smiled broadly as they saw down. "Good evening Natasha and Alex!" He said enthusiastically. "Sorry you had to wait so long for your interviews!"

"That's alright." Natasha replied, smiling, while Alex didn't say a word.

"So first…. your training score was good Natasha, but my word, Alex! A training score of 9! How did you manage that?"

Alex turned his head to look directly at Caesar, his brown eyes staring at him. "I guess the gamemakers liked what they saw. Don't know why you're doubting why I got such a high score."

"Well I do apologise!" Caesar exclaimed, laughing at the boy's aggressiveness.

Alex felt confused, as most people were normally intimidated by him. "What the hell are you laughing at?" He said angrily, beginning to rise up from his seat.

"Alex…!" Natasha hissed, putting a hand on his arm. Alex glared at her, before sitting back down, still not looking very happy.

"My my… certainly some fiery characters from the outlier districts this year eh folks?" Caesar said to the crowd, with many of them agreeing.

Alex was finding it incredibly hard not to tell everyone that him and Natasha were sure that they had been rigged, but she had told him forcefully earlier that day to not even think about it. It might have been against what they believed in, but Natasha wasn't going to give the Capitol more motivation to give them both slow and horrifying deaths in the arena.

"Fiery characters indeed." Natasha said, addressing Caesar. "But hey, surely we're better than the weaklings that normally come from District 12?"

"You certainly are…" Caesar said, a smile creeping onto his face again upon hearing Natasha's answer, with the crowd also showing their approval for her comment.

"Don't underestimate us." Alex said fiercely.

"We certainly won't be doing that…" Caesar replied. "So, Natasha and Alex, we hear you've taken the District 9 boy Paddy under your wing?"

"Yes, we have!" Natasha smiled. "He's a great kid, and we think he'll be a good person to be with in the arena."

"And what do you think of Paddy, Alex?" Caesar asked him.

"Well I personally didn't want him, but…"

"But I brought you round to the idea didn't I!" Natasha cut him off, as she ruffled his hair playfully with Alex glaring daggers at her. He knew they had to try and make the Capitol like them, but he hated every second of it.

"That's great." Caesar replied warmly. "So how do you rate your chances in the arena you two?"

Natasha opened her mouth to reply, but Alex got there first. "Well I won't be coming home. Natasha will be."

"Alex!" Natasha exclaimed angrily.

"What do you mean by that Alex?" Caesar asked.

Alex stared at the host intently again. "What I mean is, Natasha is going home this year. I'm going to do everything I can to protect her, and she will be victor."

"No.. that's not…" Natasha began, but she was drowned out by the Capitol screaming their admiration for Alex, loving this brave young boy who was willing to sacrifice himself to save his adopted sister.

The buzzer went off, and Caesar turned to address the crowd.

"And that's it for our interviews ladies and gentlemen! You've all met the tributes, and tomorrow you're going to get to see them in action! Happy 35th Hunger Games everybody!"

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**Favourite interview everyone?**

**Also, who do you think is going to die in the bloodbath? Let me know!**

By the way just like with the poll for victor, this will have no effect on who actually dies in the bloodbath, it is merely for my own curiosity again :)


	27. The Bloodbath

**Hi everyone, I hope you're excited! It's time for the bloodbath.**

**Enjoy, and let me know what you thought!**

* * *

It was the morning they had been dreading. The morning of the 35th Hunger Games.

The tributes got ready, mostly in silence, before heading out to board the hovercraft that would take them to the arena. As they boarded, it was clear that emotions were running high. Most tributes were scared, and even the careers were nervous in anticipation, despite their loud presence on the hovercraft. The tributes had no idea where they were going, and their nerves only increased when a Capitol official came round, injecting a tracker into each of their arms. There was no escape now.

Once the hovercraft reached its destination, each tribute was taken away by their respective stylists, and after a few minutes of last preparation, a loudspeaker announced that it was time to go. Each of the tributes entered into a tube, which took them up through the ground into the arena.

Then the countdown began.

As the tributes' eyes adjusted to the light, they finally got their first look at the arena. Their plates were on a green field, which appeared to be at the top of some kind of hill, with jagged rock formations surrounding the whole field, apart from one narrow passageway which cut through the rocks, leading away from the cornucopia. The rest of the arena was supposedly beyond that passageway.

The cornucopia itself was in the middle of the field, filled up with rucksacks and weapons. Every tribute's eyes were on it.

_**25…**_

Mimi was directly in front of the cornucopia, with the array of weapons in sight. She just had to get that bow and arrow.

_**24…**_

Audrey looked behind her to see the passageway which led away from the field. Once she had Teddy and Vern, they could escape.

_**23…**_

Teddy was standing four plates to the right of Audrey, and was shaking with fear. _Oh god, oh god…. _His head was doing cartwheels.

_**22…**_

Vern was next to Teddy, and knew that they had agreed to make a run for it straight away. But he could see the dagger, sitting just inside the cornucopia, practically begging to be picked up.

_**21…**_

Bree was on a plate directly to the left of the cornucopia, terrified. She was in-between the terrifying Medusa and the even more terrifying Azalea. She just hoped that they would ignore her in favour of the cornucopia.

_**20…**_

Orren was two plates to the right of Bree, and he was also feeling scared. The passageway out of here was so far away…

_**19…**_

Karina had no clue what was going on. She could only hope that Morris was somewhere near her.

_**18…**_

Morris was in fact nowhere near Karina, positioned round the rear side of the cornucopia. _Where are my allies…? _He thought desperately.

_**17…**_

One of his allies, Nash, was considering his options. _I have to get a rucksack…._

**16…**

Lily wasn't going inside the cornucopia. She was getting out of there….

_**15...**_

Bluebell was positioned on a plate in front of the cornucopia, and saw with a smile that Mimi was next to her. _Time to die District 5… _She thought evilly.

_**14…**_

_That mace is as good as mine. _Runyon thought happily, seeing the weapon perched inside the cornucopia, right in his line of vision.

_**13…**_

Murray was ready, but couldn't believe their alliance's bad luck…. not a single member near him.

_**12…**_

"12!" Shimmer shouted. He was counting down out loud at the same time as the official countdown, almost annoying Velour just as much as he was annoying the other tributes.

_**11…**_

Paddy was absolutely terrified as he looked at this surroundings. But he knew he had to help Natasha and Alex.

_**10…**_

Stood next to Paddy was Bryce, and he noticed how scared the boy was. Bryce almost felt sorry for him…

_**9….**_

Medusa was standing on her plate calmly, her facade hiding the fact that she was out for blood. A smile crept onto her face when she noticed Alex near her.

_**8…**_

Alex noticed her staring at him, and stared Medusa down. He wasn't going to let this stupid little girl intimidate him.

_**7…**_

Natasha found herself more scared that she had expected. It didn't help that she seemed to be surrounded by careers. She just had to find Alex…

_**6…**_

All Fenella could think of was her little sister. She had to kill. Skye needed her.

_**5…**_

Salton was annoyed to be situated behind the rear of the cornucopia. He would have to move fast….

_**4…**_

Andromeda looked at the two other tributes beside her, Vern and Morris. She knew she couldn't kill people like them….

_**3…**_

_Oh my god, it's starting! _Alissa thought to herself excitedly, practically bouncing on her plate.

_**2…**_

Azalea was crouching on her plate, ready to run, more ready for this than she even had been for anything in her whole life…

_**1…**_

As the gong sounded, tributes sprinted off their plates, most of them towards the cornucopia. Lily immediately sprinted away towards the passageway, with Audrey and Teddy finding each other quickly to do the same, stopping as they saw Vern sprinting towards the cornucopia.

"VERN, N-NO!" Teddy screamed, before Audrey pulled him away.

"C'mon Teddy! Let him be an idiot if he wants to! I'm not going to die here!" And the two of them sprinted away from the carnage that was about to ensue at the cornucopia.

Mimi was one of the first to reach the cornucopia, and was desperately scouring the weapons for her much needed bow and arrow, just as Bluebell approached her from behind. Mimi span around to see the career staring at her with her big blue eyes, an evil grin on her face, with a sword gleaming in her hand.

"No hard feelings!" Bluebell smiled, as she swiped her sword towards Mimi. The girl jumped back, dodging the attack, but she wasn't ready for the second attack. Bluebell quickly swiped again, cutting straight through Mimi's torso.

She fell to the ground, stunned by the amount of blood seeping out of her, as Bluebell stood over her, with her sword raised high. "Too easy District 5!" She said, laughing maliciously.

But the girl was cut off by someone slamming into her hard, making her drop the sword as she was knocked down. As Bluebell furiously tried to retrieve her weapon, she became aware of Murray, also holding a sword. He looked at Mimi's lifeless body in shock, and didn't hesitate in plunging his sword straight through Bluebell's chest.

The girl screamed in shock, with the screams quickly turning into chokes as she coughed up her own blood. Murray grimaced as he took one final look at Mimi, before grabbing a rucksack and sprinting away out of the cornucopia. As he exited, Runyon came charging in, letting out a bellow as he saw Murray, swinging for him with his hefty fist. Murray was nimbler though, and ducked under Runyon's arm, running away as he desperately searched for the rest of his alliance.

Runyon cursed himself for missing Murray, but there were other tributes to kill. He picked up the mace from the cornucopia, weighing it in his hands as he grinned sadistically, looking at his surroundings. Other tributes had reached the cornucopia, including Fenella and Azalea. But then he decided on his first target. Nash was fairly close to him, rummaging around in a rucksack.

With a war cry, Runyon charged towards him. Nash saw him coming, and just managed to barrel-roll out of the way as Runyon swung his mace exactly where he'd been a second ago. As Runyon prepared for another attack. Nash scrambled to his feet, forgetting his rucksack as he began to run off. Runyon was faster though, and grabbed Nash by the back of his coat, pulling him up to look him directly in the eye.

"You think you can outrun ME?!" He screamed, as he smashed the mace into Nash's skull. "I AM TIGER EYES! DIE DISTRICT 7!" Runyon's screams became louder as he repeatedly smashed his mace into Nash's head, cracking his skull, until his head was nothing more than a bloody stump.

Azalea meanwhile, had acquired an axe, and spotted Karina still standing on her plate, shaking with fear. _An easy kill._ The girl thought cruelly, as she jogged over to Karina, swinging the axe straight into her neck with complete precision. Karina was dead before she even knew what was happening.

Azalea looked over to see Runyon dropping Nash's body to the ground, his back turned to her.

She then knew what she had to do.

The girl screamed as she charged towards Runyon, him being caught by surprise, before bringing her axe straight down onto the middle of his head. Runyon roared in agony, stumbling around with the axe still embedded in his head, before locking eyes on Azalea.

"What Runyon? Not up for a little fight?" Azalea said in a mocking voice.

Runyon's eyes flamed up in fury, but all his strength had been sapped, blood continuing to pour out of his head. He took a step towards Azalea, but stumbled, and fell to the ground, not getting up again.

"Azalea! What the hell?!"

Alissa, carrying a trident, had reached her side, and looked at Runyon's body in shock. "He was on our side!" She screamed.

"He was scum. I did us all a favour." Azalea said happily, before pulling her axe out of Runyon's skull. "Are we going to kill some more tributes or what?"

Alissa looked shocked, but decided to leave the matter to rest for now. She hadn't killed anyone yet, and lots of the remaining tributes were within the immediate area, with most of the careers having acquired weapons at this point. She saw the fat boy from District 10, wandering around the outskirts, looking lost. With a smile, Alissa threw her trident straight at him.

It was an excellent throw, striking Morris in the stomach. As the boy keeled over, clutching his stomach in horror, Alissa ran over and pulled the trident out, running off.

Orren and Bree were dashing across the field, hoping desperately that they could make it to the passageway safely. As they ran past the cornucopia, Andromeda stepped in front of them, her kamas gleaming in the sunlight. All three tributes stopped, unsure of each other.

"Do something then." Orren said to her, perhaps rather unwisely.

Andromeda hesitated, and this was all the excuse Orren needed, giving her a forceful kick which sent her flying, clearing the way for District 3 to escape.

Meanwhile, Salton had managed to get hold of a bow and arrow, and looked over at the right hand side of the cornucopia. Medusa was scrapping with Alex, and neither of them appeared to care that they had not got hold of weapons yet, with Alex on top of Medusa, punching her in the head, while the girl desperately tried to throw the bigger boy off her. Natasha was nowhere to be seen.

Salton then saw Paddy sprinting over to the tussle with a knife in hand. He lined up his bow and arrow, and fired an arrow which hit Paddy in the back of the head, sending him straight to the ground. Alex became aware that he was outnumbered, and took off towards the passageway.

"Wanker!" He shouted at Salton as he ran off.

Salton took out another arrow, and was about to fire at Alex when he felt a sharp blow to the back of his head, knocking him out cold. Bryce quickly took Salton's rucksack from him, and sprinted off towards the passageway as well.

As Alex ran away, he finally found Natasha, who had also managed to get a rucksack.

"Let's go Natasha!" He shouted, worried about the careers chasing them.

"Where's Paddy?!" She exclaimed, as they both ran through the passageway.

"He's dead!" Alex shouted back. Natasha was too stunned to reply as they continued running.

Vern was one of the last non-career tributes left in the field, and Velour and Shimmer were toying with him, easily blocking his strikes with the dagger, while at the same time blocking his escape.

"C'mon outlier scum, you're gonna have to do better than that!" Shimmer laughed maniacally as he thrust his sword forwards, making Vern jump back to dodge yet again. Azalea and Medusa came running over to help, but Shimmer turned to look at them angrily. "Don't get involved! This one is our kill!"

Vern saw his chance, and slashed his dagger across Shimmer's arm, making him cry out in pain. "AGHHH! You filthy creature!"

"Let's finish this." Velour said, before the two of them began swiping all four swords forward in a movement which could be likened to a windmill. Vern tried to get away, but was backed up against one of the rock formations by this point, and didn't stand a chance as the combined force of the four swords hacked into him. Shimmer didn't stop there though, continuing to stab the poor boy's lifeless body until Velour grabbed his arm.

"Enough Shimmer!" He said angrily. "This is the reason that outlier scum got you! You're always getting distracted!"

Shimmer smiled at him sadistically. "Whatever. He's dead isn't he? And this can be patched up…. all that matters is that we've made our first kill!"

"I guess." Velour replied shortly. "Our next kill has got to have more style though."

"If you two have stopped bickering…. it's time to get supplies." Azalea said, glaring at them both, as the careers reconvened. Salton had recovered from his attack, and was groggily being helped up by Alissa. Andromeda appeared, and Azalea turned on her angrily.

"Where the hell have you been?" She snarled at her. "Did you even get a kill?"

Andromeda looked at Azalea, irritated. "No I didn't…. District 3 got away from me. Where's Runyon?"

"Azalea killed him!" Alissa shouted dramatically, pointing an accusing finger at Azalea.

"What the hell…!" Shimmer began to shout, but was cut off by the sound of the cannon, announcing the dead tributes.

_Boom…Boom…Boom…Boom…Boom…Boom…Boom…Boom…_

"Only eight dead?" Medusa sighed, almost disappointed.

"It's good enough." Salton said. "That's a third of the tributes out of the running!"

"And soon there'll be more." Azalea said in a bloodthirsty voice.

The careers began getting excited then, with Alissa screaming out across the field at no-one in particular.

"We're coming for you tributes! The hunt is on!"

* * *

**RIP Bloodbath tributes.**

It was really tough choosing who to kill off, and I'm sorry if yours did die! But this is the Hunger Games after all...

I'm going to write a short obituary every time a character dies. So here comes the first ones...

Mimi- I enjoyed writing Mimi, she felt like a very real character. She'll be missed in District 5...

**Bluebell- A couple of careers had to go, the pack was so big this year! Unfortunately Bluebell felt into my line of fire here. Her arrogance in delaying killing Mimi cost her. I'm sorry you won't be able to return to Blaise and get married Bluebell...**

**Nash- Another very real character, his reaping was one of the ones I most enjoyed writing, with his interaction with his sister about religion. I'm sorry you had to have such a gruesome death...**

**Karina- I'm sure that this death won't surprise anyone, poor Karina was doomed from the start. Despite this, I enjoyed writing her while she lived.**

**Runyon- I think a couple of you may have guessed that either Runyon or Azalea were going to go. It was a tough decision, but I decided to go with Runyon. I loved writing Runyon's scenes where he went full on brutal, he will be missed.**

**Morris- Another hard one to kill off, I loved him for the sweet interactions between him and Karina. It was nice to have a caring tribute amongst so many aggressive ones...**

**Paddy- I was surprised at how many of you liked Paddy, as he was more of a last minute introduction by myself in order to fill the last tribute spot. Another sweet tribute, but there's no place for that in the Hunger Games...**

**Vern- Without a doubt the tribute that I deliberated the most about killing off in the bloodbath, Vern was actually a great character to write. And it seemed as though many of you liked him, with a couple of readers even saying to me that they thought he might be victor. Unfortunately, popularity doesn't save you in this story...**


End file.
